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THE 



HISTORY OF WARNEE, 



'NEW HAMPSHIRE, 



ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR YEARS, 



From. 1735 to 1879. 



WALTER HARRIMAN. 
11 



CONCORD, N. H.: 

PRINTED BY THE REPUBLICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION. 
1879. 



0^ . ^ 



.\a;sl\H^ 






PREFACE. 



Most intelligent people have a desire to know 
something of their country and of their forefathers. 
Edmund Burke, the great English statesman, says, — 
"They who never look back to their ancestors, will 
never look forward to futurity T To rescue the early 
history of Warner from oblivion, and to perpetuate a 
knowledge of it in the generations to come, has been 
my purpose in this undertaking. Records become 
dim with age, and are destroyed ; the traditions of 
events which occurred in the preceding century are 
rapidly fading from memory. It has been a hundred 
and forty-four years since the, first grant of Warner 
was made. The last surviving original grantee of the 
township has been dead ninety years. All the first 
settlers, and all their children, long since departed this 
life, and it is felt that the writing of a history of the 
town has been delayed too long. 

In July, 1878, 1 decided to undertake this task, a 
task in which I have expended a large sum of money 
beyond any expected remuneration, and thrown in 
my personal services as a gratuity. My labor has 
been a " labor of love." Warner is my native town, 
and there cluster all my earliest and fondest remem- 
brances. Every brook and rock and tree that I knew 
1 ' 



4 HISTOEY OF WARNER. 

in my childhood is still dear to me, and, if my wishes 
are regarded, Warner will be the place of my final 
rest. 

I have travelled nearly 2000 miles in gathering 
materials for this book ; have searched the province 
records at Boston and at Concord ; the county records 
of old Hillsborough at Nashua, and of Rockingham at 
Exeter ; the Masonian records at Portsmouth, and the 
town records of Amesbury, Salisbury, Newburyport, 
Haverhill, Bradford, Andover, and Ipswich, Mass., and 
of Concord, Hopkinton, Boscawen, and Sutton, N. H, 

Remembering the injunction, "neither give heed 
to fables and endless genealogies, which minister ques- 
tions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith," I 
have made this w^ork not a genealogical register, hut 
a history of the toion. 

Names of individuals have been written strictly in 
accordance with the letter of the record, and when- 
ever quotations from ancient documents have been 
made, the original orthography, capitals, abbrevia- 
tions, punctuation, &c., have been preserved. 

The XXXVIth and last chapter embraces an ad- 
dress which the author gave, in 1878, on the Bound- 
aries of New Hampshire. As no student of history 
within the state can fail to be interested in the angry 
and prolonged controversies which grew out of this 
boundary question, and as the inhabitants of Warner 
must be specially interested in those controversies, 
that address has been deemed a fitting close to this 
volume. At one time it was supposed that the terri- 
tory of Warner would constitute a part of Massachu- 
setts ; at a subsequent period it seemed probable that 



PREFACE. 5 

Warner would make the fractional part of a great and 
noble state extending westward to Lake Champlain, 
and embracing the whole of the present New Hamp- 
shire and Vermont ; and at a still later day there was 
danger that the town would stand on the very bor- 
ders of a despoiled and dismembered state, embracing 
only the meagre territory which constituted the grant 
to Capt. John Mason. 

The small, rough map which accompanies this book 
is intended, mainly, to represent the outlines of War- 
ner, and its mountains and streams. Entire accuracy 
(particularly in regard to the roads) is not claimed for 
the map. 

Omissions and inaccuracies of various kinds will of 
course be found in this volume. Several of these 
have already been noticed since the body of the book 
was printed. By the merest accident the name of R. 
Eugene Walker, son of Abiel, is not included in the 
list of college graduates, nor in that of lawyers. Mr. 
Walker graduated at Brown University in 1875 ; read 
law with Sargent and Chase, and was admitted to the 
bar in August, 1878. He opened an office at Concord 
the next month, and is now in practice there. 

The book has been open to all who were willing to 
contribute portraits to embellish its pages, and I am 
grateful to Mrs. Abner Woodman and Benjamin E. 
Badger, for the portrait of Benjamin Evans ; to Mrs. 
George H. Witherle and L. Willis Bean, for that of 
their father ; to Mrs. Herman Foster, for that of her 
husband ; to Abner D. Farnum's family, for that of 
Franklin Simonds ; to John E. Robertson, for ihat of 
his father ; to the officers of the bank at Warner, for 



6 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

that of Joshua George ; and to the sons of Asa Pat- 
tee, for that of their father. To those who have 
furnished portraits of themselves, I am also under 
special obligations. 

I am indebted to Levi Bartlett, whose recollection 
of early incidents and historical events is remarkable, 
for many facts herein set forth ; to the late H. H. 
Harriman, whose knowledge of the topography of the 
town, — of its roads, of its divisions and sub-divisions 
into ranges and lots, — excelled that of any other man ; 
to Mrs. Hardy, of Hopkinton, an intelligent old lady, 
94 years of age, the mother of Col. Tyler B. and 
Geo. B. Hardy ; to Charles Davis, of Davisville, S. S. 
Bean, L. W. Collins, Rev. Wm. H. Walker, and others, 
for valuable items found in this work. 

In conclusion, I can only express the hope that the 
reading of the book will afford the people of Warner 
(and others) as much satisfaction as the publication 
of it has afforded the author. 

W. H. 

June 24, 1879. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Chapter I. — Grants ; Township Number One 11 

Chapter II, — Description of township Number One ; 
Its boundaries ; Its soil and productions ; Its 
ponds and streams ; Its mountains 24 

Chapter III. — Proprietors' records ; A new start ; 

First saw-mill ; The inevitable tax 41 

Chapter IV. — First meeting in the township ; Dam 
and flume ; First proposals to settlers ; Troubles 
accumulate ; New Hampshire appealed to ; No re- 
lief ; Indian depredations ; The Masonian propri- 
etors ; Further encouragement to settlers ; Grant 
to Rye 50 

Chapter V. — A new epoch ; Settlement of the town ; 

Daniel Annis ; Reuben Kimball ; The first child 65 

Chapter VI. — Proprietors' record ; Efforts for colo- 
nization ; Gift lots ; Settlers' bond ; Early settlers 78 

Chapter VII. — Early settlers, continued ; Boat on the 

Contoocook ; Second saw-mill 92 

Chapter VIII. — The Rye grantees ; Records of Ames- 
bury proprietors ; First meeting-house ; Hedged 
in ; The Potash ; The old tavern ; First grist-mill 111 

Chapter IX. — The Masonian proprietors ; A new grant ; 

Orofanizino; under it 129 



8 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Page. 

Chapter X. — Delinquent rights ; Second meeting-liouse ; 

Another town ; Trespassers; Running the lines. . . 141 

Chapter XI. — Settlement of first minister ; Steps 
towards incorporation ; A church organized ; The 
survey; First bridge; Proprietors' records 151 

Chapter XII. — Proprietors' records ; The Rye grantees ; 
Board of arbitrators; Their award; "'Parmer" 
again 158 

Chapter XIII. — The town incorporated; Mills at great 
falls ; More trouble with Rye ; Burying-yard and 
Parade ; Captain Francis Davis ; Nearing the end ; 
Final meeting 165 

Chapter XIY. — The intermediate state ; First meeting 
of the settlers ; Fast day ; Rev. Mr. Kelley called ; 
His salary ; His ordination ; The first juryman ; 
Town charter 176 

Chapter XV. — Name of the town ; Daniel Warner ; 

Col. Seth Warner ; His character and services .... 190 

Chapter XVI. — Warner's first meeting ; Town records ; 
War-notes; The census; Sage tea; The crisis at 
hand ; Convention of the people ; Governor Went- 
worth 211 

Chapter XVII. — The Exeter convention ; Not a col- 
ony, but a state ; First representative ; Town and 
class records 224 

Chapter XVIII. — Constitutional conventions ; Town 
and class records ; President of tlie state ; Loca- 
tion of meeting-house 237 

Chapter XIX. — The federal constitution; Half-shire 
town ; Court's committee ; Court-house ; A pro- 
test ; Town records ; House under the ledge 253 

Chapter XX. — Town records; Half-shire again ; Anti- 

pedobaptists; Gen. Aquila Davis; The first pound 270 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 9 

Pagk. 

Chapter XXI.^Jown records ; Pauper sale ; Hon. 
Henry B. Chase ; First school committee ; A new 
pound ; Hon. Benjamin P]vans 287 

Chapter XXII. — Town records ; The cold Friday ; 
War of 1812 ; Rev. Jolin Woods ; A cold season ; 
Masonic ; Divorce of church and state ; Heresy ; 
Quaker w^omen whipped oOO 

Chapter XXIII. — Town records ; The tornado 318 

Chapter XXIV. — A new county ; The nation's guest ; 

Town records ; Cattle show 327 

Chapter XXV. — Town records ; Presidential election ; 

Henniker celebration ; First poor-farm 342 

Chapter XXVI. — Town records ; Second poor-farm ; 
Farmers' and mechanics' library ; Cranberry and 
hoop-pole parties 357 

Chapter XXVII. — Town records ; New town hall ; 
Railroad opening ; The banks ; Constitutional con- 
vention ; Homestead exemption 374 

Chapter XXVIII. — The war ; State aid ; Bounties to 
Soldiers ; Raising the bid ; Bounty-jumpers ; More 
men ; The army moves 394 

Chapter XXIX. — End of town records ; Mountain 
road ; Warner High School ; River-Bow Park ; 
Road and reservoirs ; Funding the debt ; Constitu- 
tional convention ; County buildings ; Under the 
new constitution 403 

Chapter XXX. — Kearsarge Gore ; The Masonian pro- 
prietors ; The curve line ; Survey of the Gore ; 
Wilmot incorporated ; The Gore records 429 

Ch.ypter XXXI. — Post-masters; Deputy sheriffs ; Law- 
yers; Physicians; College graduates; High-school 
teachers; Debating clubs; Literary men and women 445 



10 



HISTORY OF WARNER. 



Page. 

Chapter XXXII. — Military history of Warner ; The 
Revolution ; Alarm at Coos ;, War with France 
threatened ; War of 1812 ; The Rebellion ; State 
militia 477 

Chapter XXXIII. — Ecclesiastical history of Warner... 500 

Chapter XXXIV. — Local names ; Population of War- 
ner ; Four-score years and ten ; Manufactures. . . . 521 

Chapter XXXV. — Fatal casualties ; Suicides ; Priva- 
tions ; Woman lost ; Wild beasts ; Witchcraft. . . . 535 

Chapter XXXVI. — The Boundaries of New Hampshire : 
An address by Gen. Walter Harriman, delivered at 
Canterbury, N. H., May 3, 1878 550 



ILLUSTEATIOE'S. 



Page. 

Walter Harriman [^^"fifPfo^'] 

Map of Warner 26 

Orison Hardy 105 

George Runels 123 

Daniel Barnard 136 

Asa Pattee : . .. 257 

Benjamin Evans 298 

Gilman C. George 313 

Ezekiel A. Straw 331 

Daniel Bean, Jr 354 

Robert Thompson 361 

George A. Pillsbury. . . . 375 



Pagk. 

Joshua George 382 

Ira Harvey 387 

Harrison D. Robertson.. 392 

Franklin Simonds 410 

Nehemiah G. Ordway . . . 423 

Alonzo C. Carroll 447 

Albert P. Davis 452 

Herman Foster 455 

Levi Bartlett 469 

John C. Ela 494 

Isaac D. Stewart 515 

Walter Scott Davis 532 



CHAPTEE I. 

GEANTS — TOWNSHIP NUMBER ONE. 

.HE English claimed the whole of North America, 
from Labrador to Florida. They claimed it by 
virtue of its discovery by the Cabots, in 1497, and of 
subsequent explorations, and efforts to colonize it. 
They found their claims, however, interfered with, to 
some extent, by the occupation of Canada by the 
French, and of New Netherland (now New York) by 
the Dutch. 

By the English constitution, the title to all the 
lands of the natives was vested in the king, and he 
might grant them when, to whom, and for what con- 
sideration he pleased. His grants might be absolute, 
or they might be conditional. 

The grants of the king, with corporate powers, con- 
stituted what were denominated charter governments. 
Such were the grants to Massachusetts, Connecticut, 
and Rhode Island. Then there were royal govern- 
ments, — governments in which the king, untrammeled 
by grants of the soil, still retained his original author- 
ity. They were presided over by a governor, who 



12 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

was appointed by the Crown, and who was removable 
at the king's pleasure. The governor was assisted 
by a coimcil, generally recommended by himself, but 
appointed by the king, and he had a negative upon 
the proceedings of any assembly of the people, with 
power to prorogue or dissolve it whenever he saw fit. 
To the governor, also, was committed authority to 
grant, in the name of the king, any unchartered lands 
in his province. Such was New Hampshire. 

King James the First chartered "The Council of 
Plymouth" on the 3d day of November, 1G20. To 
give a clear understanding of what this council was, 
a paragraph from its charter is here introduced : 
" There shall be forever, in our town of Plymouth, in 
our county of Devon, a body corporate, consisting of 
forty persons, with perpetual succession, called by the 
name of the Council established at Plymouth, in the 
county of Devon, ybr the planting, ruling, ordering, and 
governing of New England in America.'' 

To this council was granted by the king a broad 
extent of territory, reaching nearly to the mouth of 
the St. Lawrence river on the north, to considerably 
below the southern limit of New England on the 
south, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. 
The language of the charter is, "all the lands from 
forty to forty-eight degrees of north latitude, from 
sea to sea." 

This Plymouth Council, on the 7th day of Novem- 



GRANTS. 13 

ber, 1629, granted to Capt. John Mason, of the county 
of Hampshire. England, "All that part of the main 
land in New England, lying upon the sea-coast, begin- 
ning from the middle part of Merrimack river, and 
from thence to proceed northwards along the sea- 
coast to Piscataqua river, and so forwards up within 
the said river, and to the furtherest head thereof, and 
from thence north-ioestward until three-score miles be 
finished from the first entrance of Piscataqua river. 
Also, from Merrimack, through the said river, and to 
the furtherest head thereof, and so forwards up into 
the land westwards, until three-score miles be finished ; 
and from thence to cross over land to the three-score 
miles end accounted from Piscataqua river." 

This is the state of New Hampshire in its incep- 
tion, and Warner is included within the limits of this 
grant. But this is not the state of to-day. These 
boundaries have been extended, and the domain has 
been doubled in amount. 

The king in his grant, and the council in theirs, 
were not entirely unselfish in the performance of their 
deeds. They made valuable reservations. They were 
actuated, in large degree, by the hope of gain. When 
King James chartered the Council of Plymouth in 
1620, and when the council, in 1629, made the grant of 
New Hampshire to Capt. John Mason, it was believed 
that immense quantities of gold and silver existed in 
these mountains. This country was compared to 



14 HISTORY OP WARNER. 

Mexico and Peru, from which plunderers had re- 
turned laden with the shining dust. Indeed, "all 
Europe began to dream of America as a land where 
the sands sparkled with gold, and the earth was paved 
with glittering gems." So, in the charter of King 
James aforesaid, a reservation is made of one fifth of 
the gold and silver ; and in the grant of the Council 
of Plymouth to Mason, one fifth is reserved for the 
king, and another fifth for the council, and these two 
fifths were to be taken from the whole amount 
"brought above ground, to be delivered above 
ground." 

Governors of provinces made grants in the name 
of the king, to individuals and companies, for various 
considerations. Innumerable cases occurred in which 
they granted lands for actual or supposed service to 
the king or to his local governments. Especially were 
such grants made for military service. Many who 
had been engaged in the French and Indian wars 
were affectionately remembered in this way. Grants 
were also made with valuable reservations of land 
and timber, the reservations being worth, after the 
settling and opening up of a locality, more than the 
whole of the territory granted was worth before. 
Grants were also made for stipulated sums of money ; 
and in some instances the grantees simply paid cer- 
tain incidental expenses. Such was the case with the 
proprietors of Warner. 



GRANTS. 15 

It is not known that the grantees of Warner had 
rendered any particular service to the king, or to his 
provincial government of Massachusetts. Only a 
small number of the sixty had been engaged in any 
military service, except in the "home guards." They 
gave nothing for their township of land, as has al- 
ready been stated. But at the time this and many 
other grants were made, the boundary line between 
Massachusetts and New Hampshire was in controver- 
sy. Massachusetts claimed the territory of Warner, 
and all the country between the Merrimack and the 
Connecticut, to a line far north of Warner. New 
Hampshire, of course, claimed the same territory. 
The dispute had been warm and long continued. To 
gain ground in the contest, Massachusetts used every 
endeavor to induce men to accept grants of townships. 
It had become apparent that the line between the 
provinces must soon be settled, and the government 
of Massachusetts feared that their claim might be 
greatly restricted. In this apprehension, the general 
assembly of that province, under the recommendation 
of the governor, commenced granting the lands in 
controversy to actual settlers from their own province, 
in order that, if she should lose jurisdiction over the 
lands, her people would have the fee in the soil. Ac- 
cordingly, in 1725, Penacook (Concord) was granted 
to actual settlers from Andover, Bradford, Haverhill, 
and other towns in that vicinity. Pembroke was 



16 HISTOEY OF WARNER. 

granted in 1726, and in the course of a few years, 
Amherst, New Boston, Bedford, Boscawen, Hillsbor- 
ough, Keene, Swanzey, and Peterborough were grant- 
ed. About the same time it was proposed in the 
legislature of Massachusetts to grant two tiers of 
townships from the Merrimack to the Connecticut 
river, under the pretence of having a line of settle- 
ments on the frontier as a protection against the Ind- 
ians, but in reality to secure the lands to the people 
of that province, and, if possible, to forestall the deci- 
sion of the boundary question. Hence, grants were 
made with rapidity, and on terms unusually fjivorable 
to the grantees. Hopkinton, Henniker, and Warner 
were all granted in 1735. 

TOWNSHIP NUMBER ONE. 

In the Massachusetts House of _ Representatives, 
Thursday, January 15th, 1735, Edmund Quincy, 
Esq., from the committee of the two houses, on the 
petitions for townships, presented the following re- 
port : 

" The Committee, appointed the 14th current to 
take into consideration the several Petitions for Town- 
ships, before the Court, and report what may be prop- 
er for the Court to do thereon, having met, and ma- 
turely considered the same, are humbly of the opin- 
ion that there be a careful view and survey of the 
lands between Merrimack and Connecticut Rivers, 



TOWNSHIP NUMBER ONE. 17 

from the northwest corner of Rumford [Concord], on 
the Merrimack, to the great falls [Bellows Falls], on 
the Connecticut, of twelve miles at the least in 
breadth, or north and south, by a committee of 
eleven able and serviceable persons to be appointed 
by this Court, who shall, after a due knowledge of 
the nature and circumstances thereof, lay the same 
into as many Townships of the contents of six miles 
square, as the land in width as aforesaid will allow of; 
no Township to be more than six miles east and west ; 
and also lay out the land on the east side of Connecti- 
cut River from said falls to the Township [Winches- 
ter], laid out to Josiah Willard and others, into as 
many Townships, of the contents of six miles square, 
as the same will allow of; and also the land on the 
west side of the River of Connecticut, from said falls 
to the equivalent land, into one or two townships, of 
the contents of six miles square, if the same will allow 
thereof [Massachusetts, at this time, laid claim also 
to a part of Vermont.] Five of which Committee to 
be a Quorum for surveying and laying out the Town- 
ships on each, from Rumford to Connecticut River as 
aforesaid ; and three of the committee aforesaid shall 
be a Quorum for surveying and laying out the Town- 
ships on each side of Connecticut river as aforesaid ; 
and that the said committee make report of their do- 
ings to this Court at their session in May next, or as 
soon as conveniently they can, that so the persons 



18 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

whose names are contained in the several Petitions 
hereafter mentioned, viz. ; In the Petition of Hopkin- 
ton, in the Petition of Salisbury and Ameshury, in the 
Petition of Cambridge, in the Petition of Bradford and 
Wenham, in the Petition of Haverhill, in the Petition 
of Milton and Brookline, in the Petition of Samuel 
Chamberlain and Jonathan Jewell, in the Petition of 
Nathaniel Harris and others, in the Petition of Ste- 
phens, Goulder, and others, in the Petition of Morgan, 
Cobb, and others, Jonathan Wells and others, Lys- 
com, Johnson, and others, in the Petition of Isaac Lit- 
tle and others, in the Petition of Jonathan Powers and 
others, John Whitman, Esq., and others, Samuel Hay- 
ward and others, Josiah Fassett and others, John 
Flynt and others, Jonathan How and others, of 
Bridgewater, that have not heretofore been admitted 
grantees or settlers within the space of seven years 
last past, of or in, any former or other grant of a 
Township, or particular grant, on condition of settling ; 
and that shall appear and give security to the value 
oi Forty Pounds to perform the conditions that shall be 
enjoined by this Court, may, by the major part of the 
Committee, be admitted Grantees into one of the said 
Townships ; the Committee to give public notice of the 
time and place of their meeting to admit the Gran- 
tees; which committee shall be impowered to employ 
Surveyors and chainmen to assist them in surveying 
and laying out said Townships ; the Province to bear 



TOWNSHIP NUMBER ONE. 19 

the charge, and be repaid by the Grantees who may 
be admitted ; the whole charge they shall advance, 
which committee, we apprehend, ought to be directed 
and impowered to admit sixty settlers in each Town- 
ship, and take their bonds, payable to the committee 
and their successors in the said Trust, to the use of 
the Province, for the performance of the conditions of 
their Grant, viz. ; That each grantee build a dwelling- 
house of eighteen feet square and seven feet stud at the 
least on their res2Jective home lots, and fence in and 
hreak up for plowing, or clear and stock ivith English 
grass five acres of land, within three years next cfter 
their admittance, and cause their respective Lots to he in- 
habited; and that the Grantees do, within the space of 
three years from the time of their being admitted, 
build and furnish a convenient Meeting House for the 
publick worship of God, and settle a Learned Ortho- 
dox Minister ; and in case any of the Grantees shall 
fail or neglect to perform what is enjoined above, the 
committee shall be obliged to put the Bonds in suit 
and take possession of the Lots and Rights that 
shall become forfeited, and proceed to grant them to 
other persons that will appear to fulfil the condition 
within one year next after their last mentioned grant. 
And if a sufficient number of petitioners that have 
had no grant within seven years as aforesaid, viz., 
sixty to each township, do not appear, others may be 
admitted, provided they have fulfilled the conditions 



20 HISTORY OF "SVARNER. 

of their former grant. The committee to take care 
that there be sixty-three house lots laid out in as reg- 
ular, compact, and defensible a manner as the land 
will admit of; one of Avhich Lots shall be for the first 
settled minister, one for the second settled minister, 
and one for the school ; to each of which an equal pro- 
portion of land shall accrue in all future divisions." 

The foregoing report was adopted by the house, 
the council concurred in the measure, and the gov- 
ernor approved of the same. 

"Friday, January 16, 1735, In the House of repre- 
sentatives, ordered that Joseph Gerrish, Benjamin 
Prescott, Josiah Willard, and Job Almy, Esqrs., Mr. 
Moses Pearson, and Capt. Joseph Gould, with such as 
the honorable board [Council] shall join, be a commit- 
tee to all intents and purposes to effect the business 
projected by the report of the committee of both 
houses to consider the petitions for townships which 
passed [was approved] this day, viz., on the proposed 
line between Merrimack and Connecticut rivers, and 
on both sides of Connecticut river ; and that there be 
granted and allowed to be paid out of the public 
treasury, after the rate of fifteen shillings per diem (to 
each of the committee) for every day he is in the ser- 
vice in the woods, and subsistence, and ten shillings 
per diem for every day to each one of the said com- 
mittee while in the service in admitting settlers into 



TOWNSHIP NUMBER ONE. 



21 



the said townships, and subsistence, to be paid as 
aforesaid." 

"/« Council, same day, Read and concurred, and 
WilHam Dudley, Samuel Wells, Thomas Berry, Joseph 
Wilder, and John Chandler, Jr., Esqrs., are joined with 
the committee of the house for the line between Mer- 
rimack and Connecticut rivers." 

To the Salisbury and Amesbury petitioners, a grant 
of a township six miles square, to be called Nimiber 
One, was made to the following sixty persons : 

THE GRANTEES. 

Dea. Thomas Stevens, Daniel Currier, 
Capt. Richard Currier, 
Eleazer Wells, 



Jacob Currier, 
Daniel Ring, 
Moses Sargent, 
Jeremiah Flanders, 
Ichabod Colby, 
Paine Wingate, 
Jonathan Barnard, 
James Ordway, 
Philip Quimby, 
Capt. John Sargent, 
Dr. Nehemiah Ordway, 
Joseph Quimby, 
John Pressey, 



Joseph Peasley, 
Samuel Straw, 
John Allen, 
Joseph Jew^ell, 
John Hoyt, 
John Jewell, 2d, 
Elihu Gould, 
Caleb Clough, 
Stephen Merrill, 
Nathan Chandler, 
John Challis, 
Aaron Rowell, 
Edmund March, 
Jonathan Currier, 
John Wells, 



00 



HISTOEY OF WARNEE. 



Jonathan Pressey, 
Samuel Colby, 3cl, 
David Ring, 
Joseph Currier, 
Samuel Barnard, 
Jonathan Blaisdell, 
Samuel Parsons, 
John Hoyt, 
William Nichols, 
Jarvis Ring, 
Stephen Patten, 
William Straw, 
Samuel Flanders, 
John Jewell, 



Orlando Colby, 
John Stevens, 
Francis Davis, 
John Nichols, 
Isaac Chandler, 
Benjamin Tucker, 
Jacob Fowler, 
Timothy Colby, 
Timothy Sargent, 
Gideon Rowell, 
Thomas Rowell, 
Stephen Sargent, 
Jacob Sargent, 
Joseph Jones. 



These sixty proprietors lived in Salisbury and 
Amesbury, Massachusetts, — most of them in Ames- 
bury. They received their grant of this township in 
the year 1735. Some of them, at a subsequent day, 
became residents of the town, but a majority of them 
did not. In this volume will be found clearly set 
forth the perils which they encountered, the discour- 
agements that beset them, and the victories which 
they achieved. In short, the reader will here find a 
faithful representation of the intensely interesting 
record which they made. 

As not only most of the proprietors, but also a large 
proportion of the settlers of Number One, were of 



TOWNSHIP NUMBER ONE. 23 

Araesbiiry, that town may be considered the parent 
of Warner : and Warner need not be ashamed of 
her parentage, for Amesbury is a thriving, wealthy 
place, containing now a large population. The broad 
Merrimack rolls at its feet, the town being situated 
on the north bank of that famed river. Among its 
many attractions is the ■ home of the world-renowned 
Quaker poet, John G. Whittier. Powow river, fall- 
ing down from New Hampshire, passes through the 
centre of Amesbury, and carries some of its small 
machinery, but the great factories there are run by 
steam. To the east of Amesbury, and on the north 
side of the Merrimack, lies old Salisbury, extending 
to the ocean. Salisbury beach, till it was disfigured 
and destroyed by the cottages which have been erect- 
ed there within a few years, was the grandest beach 
on the whole coast. On the north of Amesbury lies 
South Hampton, New Hampshire ; on the west is 
Merrimac, Massachusetts ; and on the opposite side 
of the river, a little farther down, is old time-scarred 
Newburyport. 

This is a desirable region, but it began to be filled 
up early with an enterprising population ; land soon 
became dear, and families with small means thought 
they could get a foothold in a new, wild country more 
readily than there. Hence the migration to Warner 



CHAPTER II. 

DESCRIPTION OF TOWNSHIP NUMBER ONE — ITS BOUNDARIES — 
ITS SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS — ITS PONDS AND STREAMS — ITS 
MOUNTAINS. 

(he centre of Warner — Number One — is eighteen 
miles from the state house at Concord, in a direc- 
tion a httle north of west. It is bounded on Henni- 
ker, Hopkinton, Webster, Sahsbury, Andover, Wilmot, 
Sutton, and Bradford. It is 85 miles from Boston, by 
the most direct pubhc road, and 95 by railroad. As 
granted by the Massachusetts government in 1735, its 
boundaries were as follows : " Beginning at a place 
called and known as Contoocook, then running north, 
15 degrees west. 6 miles; then running from each end 
of this line, west 5 degrees south, 6 miles; thence cross- 
ing and running over on a straight hne, from the west 
end of one of these last mentioned lines, to the other, 
so as to make up the quantity of six miles square and 
no more." 

There was no Contoocook village at this time, and 
no inhabitant anywhere in Hopkinton. The bound- 
ary did not begin on the Contoocook river; and the 



DESCRIPTION OF TOWNSHIP NUMBER ONE. 25 

language of the grantors would have been more intel- 
ligible if they had said, "beginning on the line of the 
township of Contoocook," for Boseawen had already 
been granted by that name. They intended to begin 
at the junction of the Boseawen and Hopkinton lines; 
but, as Hopkinton had not yet been surveyed, though 
it had been granted, they could not recognize a Hop- 
kinton line: it did not exist. 

This corner of the town is in the midst of a swamp 
or bog ; and the pole which marks it can be plainly 
seen from the road leading from Davisville to Contoo- 
cookville, some eighty or one hundred rods below the 
former place. 

The grantors intended to convey " the quantity of 
six miles square, and no more;" but by the terms of 
the grant they did not convey that amount. The 
angles which they made were not right angles ; and 
the area of the grant fell considerably short of thirty- 
six square miles. 

Lots and ranges were laid off, but no official survey 
of the town was ever made under this grant from 
Massachusetts. No bounds were ever established. 
Other and grave matters crowded. The survey was 
delayed ; and in March, 1740, the decision of the king 
on the boundary question put an end to the Massa- 
chusetts claim in this region. 

The town was re-granted in 1767, by the Masonian 
Proprietors, with boundaries precisely the same as 



26 HISTOKY OF rt^ARNER. 

those in the Massachusetts grant. The township was 
surveyed for the first time in August, 1772. Hubertus 
Neal, of Concord, a skilful and popular surveyor, su- 
perintended the job. His report of this survey is in 
the words following : 

"At the request of the proprietors of New Almsbury 
[the town was now generally called by that name], I 
have laid out said Township, containing the quantity 
of six miles square, and no more, as followeth, viz. ; 
Began at a stake in a meadow in the line of Bos- 
cawen, and run North 17 degrees west, six miles and 
126 rods, to a birch tree, the north-west corner of Bos- 
cawen ; thence South 71 degrees west, three miles 
and 70 rods, to a beech tree by the corner of Stevens- 
town [Salisbury] ; then same course, 290 rods, to a 
small beech in Perrystown [Sutton] line ; then by 
Perrystown line, South 16 degrees east, 345 rods, to a 
beech iree and heap of stones, the south-east corner 
of Perrystown ; then South 85 degrees west, three 
miles and 70 rods, to a beech tree and heap of stones; 
then South 17 degrees east, four miles and 176 rods, 
to a beech tree in the line of Henniker ; then by said 
line, north 85 degrees east, and by Hopkinton line, to 
the stake first begun at. 

"Hubertus Neal, 

" Deputy Surveyor." 

The "Warner of to-day is precisely this, with the 
Gore added ; but it will be seen that the town does 



DESCRIPTION OF TOWNSHIP NUMBER ONE. 27 

not correspond very closely with the terms of the 
grant. It is not six miles square, nor is it regular in 
shape as proposed. It is more than six miles and a 
third in length on the Boscawen end, and but little 
more than four and a half on the west end. Its 
length from east to west is above seven miles. The 
area of the town, without the Gore, is thirty-seven 
square miles, and with the Gore (which embraces 
seven square miles), it is forty-four. The north line 
of the town, before the Gore was added, running from 
the south-west corner of Salisbury, near Bartlett 
Hardy's house, crossed the north road at the site of 
the Sawyer shanty, and struck Sutton on the line 
between land of William K. Morrill and Nathaniel 
Page, near Stevens brook. 

The reason why the town was not surveyed and 
laid out in accordance with the terms of the grant is 
obvious. Obstacles were found in the way. Henni- 
ker and Hopkinton on the south, Boscawen on the 
east, and Salisbury and Sutton on the north, had been 
granted and surveyed before 1772, and their limits 
had been established by due metes and bounds. The 
proprietors of Warner, therefore, had to take their 
territory where they could find it. Only on the west 
was the country unsurveyed, and their full comple- 
ment of land, and more, was made up by extending 
their limits in that direction. Had there been no ob- 
structions on the north, the Eaton neighborhood, and 
3 



28 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

much more of Sutton, would have been in Warner. 
The town would not have extended as far west as it 
does by more than a mile ; and the two western ranges, 
which sought to be annexed to Bradford in 1832, 
would have always belonged to that town. 

Township Number One, — New Almsbury, — War- 
ner, — is rocky and uneven, like most of the towns in 
central New Hampshire ; but the soil, as a rule, is 
loamy, warm, and productive. It is admirably adapt- 
ed to corn and apples. Wheat, on certain farms, is a 
safe crop. Hay is a good crop on most farms, and 
pasturing throughout the town is equal to that of 
Merrimack county generally. In a word, most of 
the staple crops of New England do well in Warner. 
The town has never been fairly appreciated, even by 
its own people. There is no better place on earth to 
live than in the town of Warner. It is a matter of 
regret that so many valuable farms have been de- 
serted. Look at the abandoned places between the 
old cemetery and Kimball Corner, on the Gould road, 
and at "Kiah Corner," near the residence of Evans 
Davis! Look at the abandoned Putney and Page 
farms in School District No. 8, the Kelley farm on 
the north side of the Minks, the Flood farm on Sutton 
line, the Savory farms in the Gore, and the great farm 
on Denny hill ! These, and many others that might 
be named, should never have been abandoned. They 
ought now to be reoccupied and rejuvenated. A resi- 



PONDS AND STREAMS. 29 

dence on any one of these old farms is to be preferred 
to a tenement in the attic of a three-story block in 
the city, or to a home on the exhausted lands in the 
fever-stricken South, or on the treeless and lonely 
prairies of the West. 

Then think of the mountains, and the unequalled 
grandeur of the scenery ! One view from Kiah Cor- 
ner, for instance, just at sunset, will do more towards 
liftmg the soul heavenward than scores of ordinary 
sermons. It is said that the native forests of the town 
were gorgeous beyond description, in their autumn 
glory. The rock maple and the pine predominated, 
the golden hue of the one blending beautifully with 
the deep green of the other. One of the distinguish- 
ing features of the town at the present day is the 
large and thrifty sugar orchards found in nearly 
every section. 

PONDS AND STREAMS. 

Within the limits of Warner there are six recos;- 
nized ponds, — viz.. Pleasant, Tom, Bear, Day's, Sim- 
mons, and Bagley's. None of these are very large, 
or^very noted. Pleasant pond is a charming little 
body of water, embracing fifteen acres. Like the 
Dead Sea, it has no visible outlet. Massaseekum 
lake, — commonly called Bradford pond, — lies just 
beyond the west line of Warner. It is a beautiful 
sheet of water, a mile and a half long and nearly a 
mile wide. Its shores are attractive, its waters are 



30 HISTORY OP WARNER. 

clear as crystal, and its islands are perfect gems. 
Poetic justice requires that it be called after Massa- 
seekum, the last of the Penacooks, who dwelt on its 
evero-reen shores, who remained after the departure 
of his tribe till the coming of the pale face, and who 
was found dead in his wigwam by an early English 
settler. 

Warner river was formerly called Almshury river. 
(This is the spelling of the word as found in the origi- 
nal writings.) One branch of it rises in the Sunapee 
range of mountains, and another in Massaseekum 
lake. It passes through Warner diagonally, from 
the north-west to the south-east corner, and ftills into 
the Contoocook a mile below the village of Contoo- 
cookville. The Contoocook, above the junction of 
these rivers, makes a graceful bend to the left, and, 
as if to meet the w^eaker stream in its coming, flows 
due west at the point of the union. The united riv- 
ers make a double right-angle, a-nd bear off to the 
eastward. 

Schoodac brook rises in Long pond in Webster, flows 
south-westerly through White plain and Schoodac, and 
fiills into Warner river. Willow brook rises in Duck 
pond in Salisbury, runs in a southerly direction, and 
unites with Warner river at the village. Stevens 
brook rises around the western base of Kearsarge 
mountain, takes a southern course, and joins Warner 
river a mile below Waterloo village. The French and 



MOUNTAINS. 31 

Meadow brooks are branches of this, coming down 
from the mountain and the Gore. Slaughter brook 
rises on the western slope of the Mink Hills, runs 
northerly, and empties into the river near Timothy 
Eastman's. This brook takes its name from the fact 
that Dea. David Heath, in hauling out timber in that 
locality, had the neck of one of his oxen broken. On 
the ice, in a broad part of the brook, the ox was hand- 
somely dressed, and the meat was carried home. Page 
brook rises in the western part of the town, and flows 
into Bradford pond. Harriman brook rises in the Har- 
riman meadow at the southern base of the Mink Hills, 
runs southerly, and, after uniting with one or two 
others, falls into the Contoocook river just below the 
old Dea. Connor muster-field. Silver brook rises on 
the eastern slope of the Mink Hills, passes through 
the North village, and falls into Warner river at the 
fair-ground. The Bartlett brook runs north-easterly 
through the farm of Levi Bartlett, and empties into 
Warner river a half mile below the village. Ballard 
brook rises in Joppa, flows in a northerly direction, 
and falls into the river near the old Ballard place, 
which is now owned and occupied by Marshall Dun- 
bar. 

MOUNTAINS. 
Rome was built on seven hills, but Warner stands 
on seven times that number. She is literally among 
the mountains. The Mink Hills are a range extend- 



32 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

ing from near the river, at Waterloo, back three miles 
in a south-westerly direction. Their name comes 
from the circumstance that minks were found in great 
numbers about the meadow at the foot of these hills, 
and the brooks that come down the ravines, by the 
surveyors, when they came to make the first division 
of the town into lots. This range consists of four 
distinct mountains, yet all are united in one. The 
most northern of the four is Monument hill ; the next 
is Middle Mink ; the next. Bald Mink, and the last is 
Stewart's hill. The summit of the latter is 1808 feet 
above the level of the sea. The view from this, and 
from the summits of the other three, is extensive and 
elevating. Men and women make weary journeys, 
cross continents, and sail the seas, to obtain views not 
more enchanting than can be had from the top of 
Monument hill, not more than two miles from Warner 
village. 

KEARSARGE. 

The late Dr. Bouton called Kearsarge "the peerless 
mountain" of Merrimack county. It is closely identi- 
fied with Warner. It lifts its head 2943 feet above 
the sea level. It has no immediate competitor. To 
the traveller on the Northern Railroad it presents a 
bold and striking outline. It is a prominent landmark 
within a circle whose diameter is one hundred miles. 

A controversy in relation to the origin of the name 



MOUNTAINS. 33 

of this mountain sprang up a few years ago. Some- 
body set afloat the absurd story that an English hun- 
ter, by the name of Hezekiah Sargent, came, some 
time previous to 1750, and made his home somewhere 
on this mountain, and hence its name ; that, further- 
more, the said Hezekiah died about the year 1800, 
and was buried, — but, as in the case of Moses, "no man 
knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day." 

It is a sufficient answer to this to say that no such 
man ever lived on Kearsarge mountain, on the top or 
on either side of it. The story is a flibrication. The 
best authority for it, so far as the writer knows, is a 
visionary, crazed man (now dead), who, in his last will 
and testament, bequeathed to his daughter four hedge- 
hogs, when she should catch them on his mountain 
ledo;e ! 

Two hundred years before the ridiculous tale is told 
of this Hezekiah Currier Sargent, the mountain bore 
the name of Kearsarge, in some of its variations; and 
a hundred and seventy-five years before this remark- 
able character is placed on the mountain at all, or is 
ever heard of anywhere, even in tradition, Kearsarge 
was known by its present name. This hero of the 
wild hunting-grounds puts in an appearance too late. 

The name unquestionably comes from the Indians, 
who sojourned at its base, who roamed over its steep 
declivities, or who saw it from afar. It is not easy to 
convey, by the use of English letters, the precise 



34 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

sounds of the unlettered wild men of the forest. The 
thing is impossible, and, in attempting it, we have the 
orthography of the name in almost an unlimited num- 
ber of forms. The still further difficulty may be no- 
ticed, that, even among the Indians themselves, the 
pronunciation of the word varied as much as the 
orthography of it has varied among white men. 

In 1652, Gov. Endicott's exploration of the Merri- 
mack river to Lake Winnipesaukee was executed. 
The Endicott rock, at the outlet of the lake, was then 
marked. A plan was made of this survey, and the 
proof is at hand that this plan must have been made 
hefore 1670. It is thus endorsed : " Plat of Mere- 
mack River from ye See up to Wenepeseoce Pond, 
also the Corses from Dunstable to Penny — cook 

Jn° Gardner " 

Kearsarge mountain is on this plan, and the name 
is spelled Carsaga. 

Captain Samuel Willard, of Lancaster, Mass., the 
prince of Indian rangers, saw this mountain from the 
top of Monadnock, July 31, 1725, and called it Cusa- 
gec mountain. 

On the margin of the ancient plan of Boscawen, 
which was granted by Massachusetts, as a township, 
in 1733, appears a rude representation of an irregular 
hill along the northern boundary line, with this ap- 
pended inscription: "Supposed to be one of ye A7a- 
saga Hills " 



MOUNTAINS. 35 

A plan of Kearsarge Gore, drawn by Col. Henry 
Gerrish subsequent to 1751, bears the following title: 
"A plan of Kaysarge Gore, near Kyasarge^ 

An English map, published according to Act of Par- 
liament, in 1755, by Thomas Jeffreys, geographer to 
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, near Char- 
ing Cross, and taken from actual surveys made in 
1750 by Mitchell and Hazzen, puts our mountain in 
its true place, and spells it Kyasage. 

The proprietor's records of Sutton state that a 
township of land " was granted to Capt. Obadiah 
Perry and others, in 1743, lying on the west side of 
Kiasarge Hill." 

In June, 1750, a meeting of the proprietors of that 
town was called by Thomas Hale, who represented 
that the land laid " on the westerly side of Ciasarge 
Hill." Again, the proprietors of that town spell the 
name, Ciasargey ; again, Chia Sarge ; and again, 
Keyasargy. But words need not be multiplied. The 
position here taken required, perhaps, no substantia- 
tion at all. The story of Hezekiah Sargent is a myth. 
The mountain has been known, continuously, as Kear- 
sarge, more than two hundred years ! 

But another controversy concerning this mountain 
has arisen still more recently. The birth of this latter 
controversy, so fixr as the public are informed, was in 
1875. The Union corvette, or sloop of war, Kear- 
sarge, became famous by sinking the Confederate Ala- 



36 HISTOEY OF WARNER. 

bama, June 19, 1864. Eleven years afterwards the 
question is raised, whether this gallant vessel took its 
name from the Kearsarge of two hundred years' stand- 
ing, or from a mountain in Carroll county. 

The Kearsarge was built at Portsmouth, N. H., in 
1861. Major Henry McFarland, of Concord, a pay- 
master in the army, wrote a letter to the assistant 
secretary of the navy (G. V. Fox), on the first day of 
June, 1861, suggesting that one of the sloops of war, 
which were then being built at Portsmouth, be called 
Kearsarge. Gideon Wells, of Connecticut, was sec- 
retary of the navy. He accepted this name. He 
thought, at first, that Kearsage, with the final " r " left 
out, was the true orthography, but the secretary of 
the treasury, Salmon P. Chase, corrected him. Con- 
cerning this matter. Secretary Wells wrote as follows : 
"I 'first directed that the corvette should be called 
Kearsage ; but Mr. Chase, a New Hampshire man, cor- 
rected my pronunciation and orthography. We had, 
I recollect, a little dispute, and that I quoted Governor 
Hill, but Mr. Chase convinced me that he was cor- 
rect." 

Major McFarland says, with much force and beauty, 
" The corvette appears to me to have been named 
when she received the precise designation which she 
defiantly carried through storm and battle." It will 
be well to remember here that Salmon P. Chase was 
a native of Cornish, a New Hampshire town, which 



MOUNTAINS. 37 

has the Kearsarge of Merrimack county in plain 
view. 

Mr. Wells " quoted Governor Hill." This is further 
proof that it was the mountain in Merrimack county 
for which he named the corvette, Governor Hill hav- 
ing been a citizen of Concord, a large land-owner on 
that mountain, and an enthusiast in setting forth its 
lofty grandeur. 

About 1865 a large hotel was built on the Wilmot 
side of this mountain, and named, in honor of the 
ship's captain, the " Winslow House." That hotel was 
destroyed by fire in 1867, and was rebuilt on a larger 
scale. A reception was given to Admiral Winslow, in 
the first house, and he was present at the opening of 
the second, in 1868, when he gave the proprietor a 
stand of colors and a picture of the battle. 

Men of high station, both in the state and country, 
as well as others, were present on these occasions, 
participating in the festivities and congratulations of 
the hour. Nobody whispered that we were on the 
wrong mountain. Probably, into no one's mind, at 
that time, had the idea entered that a rival mountain 
was entitled to these honors. 

In due time Admiral Winslow died, and a boulder 
was taken from the original Kearsarge to serve as a 
monument at his grave. And now the controversy as 
to the origin of the ship's name began ; but the fam- 
ily of the Admiral stood by our Kearsarge, and the 



38 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

boulder is found in Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston 
Highlands, supporting a bronze tablet with the 
following inscription : 

Rear Admiral 

John Ancrum Winslow, 

U. S. Navy, 

Born in Wilmington, N. C, 

Nov. 19, 1811, 

Died in Boston, Mass., 

Sept. 29, 1873. 

He conducted the memorable 

Sea-fight in command of 

U. S. S. Kearsarge, 

When she sank the Alabama in the 

English Channel, June 19, 1864. 

This boulder from 
Kearsarge Mountain, Merrimack County, N. H., 

Is the gift 

Of the citizens of Warner, N. H., and is erected 

to his memory by his wife and 

surviving children. 

A correspondent of the Boston Journal, writing 
from Petersburg, Virginia, July 16, 1864, says, — " The 
sinking of the Alabama by the Kearsarge gives great 
joy to the soldiers. They are as much gratified as if 
they had won a victory. The men of the Kearsarge 



MOUNTAINS. 39 

were mainly from New Hampshire. Their ship was 
built there, and it bears the name of the grand old 
mountain beneath the shadow of which Daniel Web- 
ster passed his childhood. The name was selected 
for the ship by one of the publishers of the New 
Hampshire Statesman. The tourist, passing through 
the Granite State, will look with increased pleasure 
upon the mountain whose name, bestowed upon a 
national vessel, will be prominent in the history of 
the republic." 

Warner, Wilmot, Andover, Sutton, and Salisbury 
all claim ownership in this mountain. Warner and 
Wilmot meet on the very summit ; Andover comes 
near the top ; Salisbury and Sutton not quite as near. 
The summit of Kearsarge is a bald rock. It was 
once mostly covered with wood ; but about seventy- 
five years ago the fire ran over the top of the moun- 
tain, increasing in intensity for several days, and con- 
suming not only the dead and living trees, but burn- 
ing up the greater portion of the soil itself 

Standing on that majestic height, one feels that he 
is, indeed, on the king mountain of all this region. 
It stands there without a rival. It has no neiofhbor 
on the east, — nothing to intercept a view of the 
ocean. At the south, fifty miles away, rises the Grand 
Monadnock, its equal, and its solitary neighbor in that 
direction. At the west lies old Ascutney, triple- 
pointed, and grand beyond description in the evening 



40 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

twilight; but this mountain is " over the border," for, 
by the decree of King George the Third, in 1764, the 
west bank of the Connecticut river is our boundary. 
Tlien, to the northward and in fair view, though from 
thirty to sixty miles away, the nearest equal neigh- 
bors are Cardigan, White Face, and Chocorua, the 
summits of the two latter being seldom trodden by 
human feet. Each of these mountains is sublime in 
its way, but Kearsarge stands alone in solitary grand- 
eur, — the Mont Blanc of central New Hampshire. 




CHAPTER III. 

PKOPRIETOES' RECORDS — A NEW START — FIRST SAW-MILL — THE 
INEVITABLE TAX. 

NDER the sanction of the king, the loyal gov- 
ernment of Massachusetts has made a grant of 
township Number One, in the line of towns, and the 
proprietors of said township are fairly in possession of 
the premises granted. Now the question presses, 
" What shall be done with the prize ? " 

Full of courage and expectation, these proprietors 
set themselves to work. There were among them di- 
versities of gifts, but, for a time, the same spirit. It 
is evident that they held one meeting or more, of 
which there is no record in existence. Of the second 
or third meeting there is a record. It was held in 
the year 1736. From an old and torn leaf in the rec- 
ord-book of the proprietors, it appears that, at a meet- 
ing held some time in 1736, David Ring, Benjamin 
Tucker, Timothy Colby, Joseph Jewell, and Isaac 
Chandler were chosen a committee to lay out sixty- 
three lots of forty acres each, — one lot for each pro- 
prietor, one for a school-lot, one for the first minister, 



42 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

and one for a parsonage. That committee proceeded 
to the wilderness on their mission. They found no 
wliite inhabitant above Penacook. From there to 
Number One there was not so much as a "blazed" 
path ; but they reached their destination, and did 
their work. They brought in a return of their do- 
ings at a meeting of the proprietors, held in Amesbury, 
Nov. 25, 1736. The record of said meeting is in the 
followinu; words : 

"A meeting of ye township Number One, Nov. ye 
25th, 1736, Mr. Pain Wingait was chosen moderator 
for said meeting ; ye committy brought in a return of 
that they had laid out 63 lots of 40 acres to each lot 
in 4 ranges which was received in and voted on ye 
firmative." 

There was some wrang^lino; at this meetino-. Disa- 
greements crept in, so soon. A part of the proprietors 
deemed all the proceedings thus far illegal. They 
contended that nobody had been properly authorized 
to call the first meeting, and some plain talk was in- 
dulged in. Words ran high. Jarvis Ring bluntly said to 
Rev. Paine Wingate, " You 're college larnt, I know ; 
but there's men here that can beat you in and out on 
the law." 

This Paine Wingate was a graduate of Harvard, and 
the settled minister in Amesbury. He had a son by 
the same name, who settled in Stratham, New Hamp- 
shire. This second Paine Wingate and John Langdon 



A NEW START. 43 

were the first two senators from New Hampshire in 
the Congress of the United States. 

A NEW START. 

All the proceedings of the proprietors and of their 
committees up to this time fell. The lots which the 
committee had laid out were thrown up, and a new 
start had to be made. In fact, before the committee 
for laying out lots had returned from Number One 
and reported, certain of the proprietors, who believed 
that so far all that had been done was illegal, went to 
Boston for relief They were successful, for, — 

"At a great and general court held in Boston, the 
24th day of November, 1736, the following vote pass- 
ed the two houses, and was consented to by the gov- 
ernor, viz. : Voted that Deacon Thomas Stevens of 
Almsbury, be and hereby is empowered to assemble 
the grantees of township Number One, lying in the 
line of towns between the rivers of Connecticut and 
Merrimack, giving timely notice to the said grantees 
admitted into said township by the committee of this 
court, to meet and assemble at some suitable place, in 
order to choose a moderator and proprietors' clerk, 
and a committee to allot and divide their lands, and 
to dispose of the same, and to pass such votes and 
orders as by them may be thought conducive to the 
speedy fulfilment of the conditions' of their grant, and 

also to agree upon methods of calling of meetings for 
4 



44 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

the future. Provided none of their votes concerning 
the dividing or disposing of their lands that shall be 
passed while they are under the care and direction 
of the committee of this court, shall be of force before 
they are allowed of by the said court." 

Under this act of the Massachusetts authorities, our 
proprietors started again. Dea. Thomas Stevens call- 
ed a meeting at Amesbury, April 25, 1737. There 
was a full attendance, every member being present in 
person or by a substitute. Below is an exact copy of 
the records of this meeting : 

"By order of ye Grate and General Court to Dea- 
con tho'^ Stevens the proprietors of ye township Nom^^ 
one Met to Gether on Aprl ye 25*'' 1737 att ye same 
Meetino; Jarvis Rino; was chosen Moderator for said 
meeting. Att ye same meeting Jonathan Blaisdell 
was Chosen proprietors Clarke and sworn before Or- 
lando Bagley Justice of ye Peace. Att ye same meet- 
ing voted to Chouse three Men to be a Committy to 
Lay out and Divide s'^ township as thay shall Receve 
order from ye proprietors of s'' township. 

"Att ye same meeting voted to allow s'^ Committy 
eight shillings a day expended in laying out s'^ Land. 

"Att ye same meeting Joseph Jewell, Jarvis Ring 
and timothy Colby was chosen a Committy to Lay 
out said Land as soon as may be, and to proseed to 
vew s'^ township and Lay out ye Entervail or flood 
Land to Each proprietor in Equal proportion in Quan- 



A NEW START. 45 

tity and Quality, and al so a Division of Lots of up 
Land to each proprietor where it may be thought 
most Convenant by them for a settlement in Quantity 
and Quality. 

"Att ye same Meeting voted that as soone as ye 
Committy hath Laid out s'^ Lots thay have power to 
warn a meeting to Receive thair Return by posting it 
up on 3^e two Meeting houses in Almesbury and on 
ye west Meeting house [Rocky Hill] in Salisbury. 

"Att ye same Meeting voted to have our Anuell 
Meeting on ye third Wednesday in March Anually." 

The proprietors had now started on the right track. 
They were energetic men, and were ready to grapple 
with the difficult problem of surveying, dividing up, 
and settling a township in the wilds of a new country. 
They hardly forecast the nature of the experiment, 
and it is well that they did not. Without doubt they 
felt assured that they had a good thing. All the ac- 
counts that came to them from this region were flatter- 
ing. One report said, — "The soile is rich and Deap, 
the Trees are verry large and the Brookes are stocked 
with fish." 

This second committee to " lay out and divide said 
township" also went promptly to the discharge of 
its duty. Two of its members, viz., Joseph Jewell 
and Timothy Colby, had been on the former commit- 
tee, and were therefore acquainted with the ground. 
They attended to this work in the early autumn of 



46 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

1737, adopting the survey of the first committee, to a 
great extent. They now found a bridle-path, which 
the proprietors of Hopkinton had cleared, running 
from Penacook over Dimond's hill, and on over ground 
where Hopkinton village now stands, to the top of 
Putney's hill. They crossed the Contoocook river on 
a raft of logs constructed by themselves. They re- 
mained in township Number One less than a w^eek, 
as their stock of provisions failed them. But they re- 
turned to Amesbury with exaggerated accounts of the 
richness of the new country. 

In January, 1738, the proprietors held their next 
legral meetino;. The record stands thus : 

" Att a Meeting of ye proprietors of ye Township 
No. one January ye 21, 1738 Mr. Stephen Moril was 
Chosen Moderator of this meeting. 

"Att ye same meeting voted to Chouse a man or 
men to clear a way from Contoocook River to ye 
meeting house Lot in ye township. 

" Att ye same meeting samuel straw Gideon Rowell 
was chosen to clear said way or Rhod as a fore s'd at 
8 shillings per day." 

The " meeting-house lot" was at the old cemetery 
where the first church edifice stood, and also the 
second. But as here was the original Parade of the 
township, the locality will be designated by this name 
hereafter. The ferry over the Contoocook, from 
which this " way" was to be cleared, was at the "still 



FIRST SAW-MILL. 47 

water," about a third of a mile below the present 
bridge at Contoocookville. 

FIRST SAWMILL. 

" Att ye same meeting voted to Bild a saw mill by 
ye last Day of August Next in ye town ship No. one. 

"Att ye same Meeting Jonathan Barnard was chos- 
en to a Gree with a man or men to build said saw 
mill and Iron work and bring in an accompt of what 
it will Cost at ye anual meeting in March next for 
Revisal or Refusal." 

No record of an annual meeting in March, 1738, 
is in existence, and the presumption is, that, if such 
meeting was held, no business of importance was 
transacted. 

A meeting was held in June, 1738, when the com- 
mittee appointed in April, 1737, to lay out lots, made 
their report. They had laid out sixty-three house- 
lots, of five acres each, on the plain between Charles 
P. Sawyer's and Tom pond. The committee had 
probably acted under the direction of the proprie- 
tors ; and these lots had been thus laid out contig- 
uous to each other, that the inhabitants might be in 
a situation to defend themselves against any attacks 
from the Indians, who were hovering about with hos- 
tile demonstrations. The plan was, that each settler, 
or family, should have one of these house-lots to live 
on, and at least a forty -acre lot elsewhere for a farm. 



48 HISTORY OP WARNER. 

But such a, scheme could hardly be made practicable 
in any case, and in this case it fell. These house-lots 
were all abandoned, and absorbed in subsequent sur- 
veys. 

At the annual meeting, March 21, 1739, Thomas 
Rowell was chosen moderator, and Jonathan Blaisdell 
proprietors' clerk. At the same meeting, voted to 
pay Orlando Colby, Joseph Jewell, and John Challis, 
Jr., 120 pounds in Province bills, old tenor, for build- 
ino- a good and serviceable saw-mill in the township, 
on the '^FalU called Blaclcwater River" by the last 
day of August next, the said workmen to find iron- 
works and all other materials for said mill, according 
to contract. Each proprietor was to pay his due pro- 
portion to defray the cost of building the mill, or for- 
feit his right in the township. 

The proprietors seem to have labored under a mis- 
apprehension, at this time, in regard to the location of 
Blackwater river ; but the error makes only this sin- 
gle appearance. 

At a meeting of the proprietors the September fol- 
lowing, at Amesbury, Jonathan Blaisdell and Jona- 
than Barnard were chosen " to go up to township 
Number One, and view the saw mill there in process 
of building, and the highway cleared to said township; 
and also to select the place, and agree with a man or 
men to build a dam for said mill." These men were 
to be paid eight shillings a day each, from the day of 



THE INEVITABLE TAX. 49 

leaving home till the day of their return. Eight 
shillings paid all the bills, for service, for travel, and 
for subsistence. Their manner of travel was on 
horseback. 

THE INEVITABLE TAX. 

There is a saying that " nothing is sure but death 
and taxes," and the proprietors of Warner were not 
left without witness that taxes were sure enough. In 
March, 1739, a tax of forty shillings to a right was 
assessed upon these proprietors. It was the first reg- 
ular tax, and the same names appear in this tax-list 
as are found on the roll of grantees on a former page. 
It is hardly probable, however, that all these men had 
lived and held their rights up to this time, though it 
had been but a few years. The assessors placed the 
tax, in each case, to the name of the original owner ; 
and the holder of the right, whoever he might be, 
had to foot the bills. This tax amounted, in the 
aggregate, to £120, or $400. 



CHAPTER IV. 

FIRST MEETING IN THE TOWNSHIP— DAM AND FLUME FIRST 

PROPOSALS TO SETTLERS TROUBLES ACCUMULATE NEW 

HAMPSHIRE APPEALED TO NO RELIEF INDIAN DEPREDA- 
TIONS — THE MASONIAN PROPRIETORS FURTHER ENCOURAGE- 
MENT TO SETTLERS GRANT TO RYE. 

T the annual meeting of the proprietors, March 
19, 1740, John Hoyt was chosen moderator, and 
Jonathan Barnard, clerk. The meeting then adjourned 
to May the 12th ; and at this second meeting, — 

" Voted to adjourn this present meeting up to said 
township No. One, at the Old Camp, near the saw mill, 
Monday, the 28th day of this present May, at 12 
o'clock on said day." 

It is not known how many of the proprietors made 
the long journey to attend this meeting at the old 
camp, but there were certainly as many as four in 
attendance, and perhaps twice that number. It was 
in the charming month of May that this meeting 
occurred. Every tree was clothed in a foliage of 
green, every blossom was scenting the air, and the 
whole earth was adorned in beauty. It is not strange 



FIRST MEETING OF THE TOWNSHIP. 51 

that this httle company returned to Amesbury enthu- 
siastic in the praises of their new inheritance. 

The record of this meeting is as follows : 

" At a meeting of the proprietors of Township No. 
One in the line of towns, May 28th, 1740, held by ad- 
journment from Jonathan Barnard's, Inholder in Alms- 
bury, at the old camp, near the saw mill in said Town- 
ship, Joseph Jewell was chosen Moderator, and Eze- 
kiel Morrill, Clerk." 

" At the same meeting, Isaac Chandler and Henry 
Currier were chosen a committee to view the said 
mill, and take delivery thereof, if finished according 
to contract." 

The committee reported the same day " that they 
had viewed said mill, and received her for the Propri- 
etors' use." 

" Att ye same meeting voted to ad jorn that same 
meeting Back to the house of Jonathan Barnard in 
Almesbury aforesaid on the 11th day of June next." 

This mill was at the great natural fall where the 
Davis mills now stand. The old camp, where their 
agents and workmen all " put up," was near the 
spring at the stone watering-trough. The water from 
this spring was represented as being " clear as crys- 
tal, and very cold." It was a fine spot for one to rest 
and refresh the " inner man." The camp stood on dry 
ground, forty feet above the bed of the river, and 
commanded a pleasing view of the valley. No plow 



52 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

had turned the soil, no axe had felled the trees, of this 
primitive region. The subsistence, whether victuals 
or drink, of those who tarried here, was brought from 
below. Their shelter was rude and inexpensive ; 
their bed, the luxuriant boughs of the hemlock and 
the pine. 

Joseph Jewell, who has now a family representative 
by the same name in Warner, had the honor of being 
the first man ever elected to office on our soil. His 
constituency, to be sure, was not large, but no doubt 
it was "eminently respectable." 

DAM AND FLUME. 

The following is an exact copy of the next record 
of the proprietors : 

"June ye 11*^ 1740, by adjournment of ye meet- 
inge of ye proprietors of Township No. one in the line 
of towns Joseph Jewell beinge moderator again open- 
ed ye meetinge, att ye same meetinge voted and Re- 
solved to Give to Ezekiel Morrill sixty pounds in Bills 
of Credit for Bildinge a dam and floom att ye saw mill 
in the Township No. oue to be paid at the finishinge 
of said dam and floom accordinge to the Condition 
of the Bond Baringe date with these presents which 
said Morrill giveth to the proprietors." 

They also voted at this meeting that the said Mor- 
rill should "have the improvement [use] of each pro- 
prietor's part of the mill till said proprietor should 



TROUBLES ACCUMULATE. 53 

pay in his share of 20 shilHngs for building dam and 
floom." 

FIRST PROPOSALS TO SETTLERS, 

At a meeting in Amesbury, August 29, 1740, Voted 
to give to the first five families that would settle in 
the township 20 pounds each, provided they would 
"fulfill the Court Act" by building a house and clear- 
ing five acres of land by the 15th day of the next 
June, each settler to receive 5 pounds within one 
month from the time he first moves his wife and fam- 
ily to said township, and 5 pounds a year for three 
years after, in case he remained so long. 

At the same meeting, Capt. Thomas Rowell was 
chosen to prepare a petition to the Great and General 
Court of Massachusetts for a longer time for comply- 
ing with the requirements of their charter respecting 
the settling of the township. 

These grantees had now been in possession more 
than five years, but not a solitary settler had planted 
his foot on the soil of Number One. 

TROUBLES ACCUMULATE. 

The last two foregoing votes were passed after the 
royal decree, that Massachusetts had no jurisdiction in 
the premises, had been issued. The territory of the 
township had been adjudged to be in New Hampshire, 
and not in Massachusetts. But the proprietors did 



54 HISTOEY OF WARNER. 

not relinquish their undertaking : they persevered : 
they still sought to stimulate settlement, and get pos- 
session of the soil. They felt that no government 
would drive out bona fide settlers, or impose new bur- 
dens upon them. In this they were right : but men 
are naturally timid and cautious. Before taking grave 
responsibilities and burdens upon their shoulders, they 
want to be assured that there are no insurmountable 
obstacles in the way. 

Meeting after meeting of the proprietors was held, 
but settlers did not aj)pear. The General Court of 
Massachusetts was appealed to again, but no relief 
came from that quarter. Discouragement ruled the 
hour. Some of the grantees proposed to sacrifice 
what they had done, and surrender the claim, but the 
majority thought otherwise. Time rolled on, and at 
last the harassed proprietors supplicated another 
'• throne." 

NEW HAMPSHIRE APPEALED TO. 

At a meeting held at the house of Jonathan Bar- 
nard, Innholder, in Amesbury, Feb. 1,1741, "Voted, 
that Capt. Thomas Rowell, and Lt. Joseph Jewell, be 
a committee to prepare a petition in the name of the 
proprietors, to the Governor and Council of the Prov- 
ince of New Hampshire, to obtain orders and direc- 
tion in relation to bringing forward the settlement of 
the Township — and that each proprietor pay 5 shill- 



NEW HAMPSHIRE APPEALED TO. 55 

ings to the said committee on or before the 4th in- 
stant, to enable them to perform the duties required." 

In pursuance of this vote, the committee acted, 
though not in great haste. In May, 1742, they pre- 
sented the following petition to the government of 
New Hampshire. It is here copied without alteration : 

" To his Excelli Benning Wentworth Esq' Gov'" in 
Chief in and over his Majesty's Province of New 
hampshire : to the hon''' his Majesty's Council 

" The humble petition of Capt. Thomas Kowell and 
Joseph Jewell in the name and by order of the pro- 
prators of a Township called No. One, in the Line of 
Towns from Kumford to Connecticut River, Humbly 
shewing : That whereas the Province of the Massa- 
chusetts in the year 1735, granted severall Townships 
and laid them out from Rumford to Connecticut Riv- 
er, among the Rest your Petitioners for services done, 
obtained a Grant of a Township of six miles square : 
Since which time your petitioners have laid out Two 
Divisions of Lots and Built a Saw mill thereon and 
cleared considerable of their Lots and done consider- 
able in order for settling ; But so it is, that by the de- 
termination of his Majesty in Council upon the Boun- 
dary Line between the Province of the Massachusetts 
and New Hampshire, the said Township lieth to the 
Northward of the s'^ Boundary Line, and in the Gov- 
ernment of New Hampshire : 

" Wherefore we your Excely* and Hon''^ most Hum- 



56 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

ble Petitioners looking upon ourselves as suitable 
objects of favor and compassion as any of his Maj- 
esty's subjects, would therefore humbly pray your 
ExceF and Honors to take our case into your most 
wise and just consideration and alow and confirm 
unto your most Humble petitioners the afores"^ 
Town ship and give us such suitable and conven- 
ient time for bringing forward the setelment as 
your ExceF and Hon'' in your great wisdom shall 
judge most fitt and convenient ; and your petition- 
ers as in Duty bound shall ever pray. 

" Thomas Rowell 

" Joseph Jewell 
" Essex Almsbury 

"May the 12; 1742." 

NO RELIEF. 

Here the case is intelligibly stated, and the petition 
is warmly pressed, but the government of New Hamp- 
shire has no authority, and cannot act. The propri- 
etors called for a fish, but New Hampshire could not 
give even a stone, and they were turned away empty. 
Township Number One was found to be within the 
domain granted to Capt. John Mason in 1629. The 
title to the soil was claimed by Mason's heirs ; and 
the prospect of finding them, and making any favor- 
able negotiation with them, was very distant. So 
here was another bitter disappointment to the Salis- 
bury and Amesbury proprietors. 



INDIAN DEPREDATIONS. 57 

But this is not all : the old adage, that " Curses 
never come singly," seems to have been repeatedly 
verified in the case of the grantees of Warner. Be- 
sides what has already been stated, the first French 
and Indian war came on about this time, or a year 
before, greatly retarding settlements in all frontier 
towns, and depreciating the value of unsettled lands. 
The war contiuued, with more or less violence, for six 
or seven years, hostilities being terminated by the 
treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, October, 1748. 

Hostilities were renewed, however, in 1752, and 
were continued till 1760. In this second Indian war 
the colonies changed their policy from a defensive to 
an aggressive warfare, with the best results. The en- 
emy were conquered and dispersed. After this, settle- 
ments went forward all along the line of the frontier 
with rapidity, and with but little molestation. 

INDIAN DEPREDATIONS. 

"Warner was never the seat of any Indian tribe, 
though the red men roved through our forests and 
sojourned by our waters. On the banks of Warner 
river, on the shores of Schoodac brook, in Harriman 
meadow, and probably elsewhere, Indian relics have 
been often found. 

A particular mention of some of the Indian depre- 
dations committed in the neighborhood of township 



58 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Number One, shortly after 1745, will be both proper 
and mteresting. 

In April, 1746, the Indians made a descent on the 
settlers in Hopkinton, and carried away eight cap- 
tives. Among this number was Mary, daughter of 
David Woodwell. After a detention of six months 
among the French, at Montreal, she returned to Al- 
bany, and soon after to Hopkinton, Mass., her native 
place. She was twice married, but died a widow, 
among the Shakers at Canterbury, in 1829, in the 
one hundreth year of her age. 

In May, the Indians killed two persons in Boscawen, 
and carried away one captive. In August, two more 
captives were taken in the same town. In the same 
month, five men were killed and two captured, in 
Concord. The scene of this tragedy is marked by a 
stone monument on the Hopkinton road. About this 
time many persons were killed or taken captives in 
Claremont, Charlestown, Keene, Hinsdale, and other 
places. In Warner, no persons were killed or taken 
captive : none were here : but the Indians burnt the 
rude saw-mill, which had been built in 1740, at Davis- 
ville, and been accepted for the "proprietors' use." 

In 1753, Nathaniel Meloon, living at the Meloon 
meadow, near Smith's Corner in Salisbury, was cap- 
tured by the Indians, together with his wife and three 
children, viz., Sarah, Rachel, and Daniel. Another son 
of Mr. Meloon, a lad of twelve years, discovered the 



INDIAN DEPREDATIONS. 59 

Indians approaching the house, sprang 'for the woods, 
and made good his escape. 

Mr. and Mrs. Meloon and the three captured chil- 
dren were carried to Canada, and sold to the French at 
Montreal. Another son was added to the family dur- 
ing its residence with the French, who was baptized 
Joseph Marie. After a residence of four years and 
a half with the Frerjch, Mr. Meloon, with his wife, 
returned to his farm in Salisbury. His house was on 
the upper Warner road, a little west of Smith's Corner, 
and near Warner line. One daughter died with the 
Indians. The other daughter (Rachel), who was nine 
years old when she was captured, returned to the fam- 
ily after eight or ten years, having acquired the hab- 
its and manners of the Indians, and become much 
attached to them. 

Many meetings were held by the proprietors in 
1741, 1742, and 1743, but nothing worthy of note 
was transacted : nothing really could be. 

At their annual meeting, March 21, 1744, they 
commenced a renewed effort for relief Emulating 
the example of the old gentleman who removed the 
boy from his apple-tree, they proposed to try more 
effectual remedies than those first resorted to : they 
proposed to drop epistolary correspondence, and put 
in a personal appearance before the New Hampshire 
authorities. The following vote is found in the rec- 
ords of this meeting : 



60 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

" Voted that thomas Rowell and Joseph Jewell be a 
committee to Goe down to the Governor of New 
Hampshire to receive orders and instructions respect- 
ing ye settlinge of ye s'^ Township." 

The seat of government was then at Portsmouth. 
It was but a short journey from Amesbnry there, and 
without doubt this committee performed the journey ; 
but how futile their efforts were, and must of neces- 
sity have been ! New Hampshire was as powerless to 
afford the assistance which they needed, as Massachu- 
setts herself Neither had the slightest authority over 
the matter in hand. 

THE MASONIAN PROPRIETORS. 

July 31, 1746, twelve gentlemen, all living in 
Portsmouth but one, purchased of John Tufton Ma- 
son, tracts of land containing " two hundred thousand 
acres, more or less," it being all the land that the 
said Mason then claimed in the province. The names 
of these twelve purchasers were Theodore Atkinson, 
Mark Hunking Wentworth, Richard Wibird, John 
Wentworth, George Jaffrey, Samuel Moore, Nathaniel 
Meserve, Thomas Packer, Jotham Odiorne, Thomas 
Wallingford, Joshua Pierce, and John Moffat. 

This was an important step to the proprietors of 
Warner, as the township became, at this time, the 
lawful property of the aforesaid twelve men. " New 
lords, new laws," is the old adage; and the Ames- 



THE MASONIAN PROPEIETORS. 61 

bury proprietors could not determine whether it 
would prove a good thing or a fearful thing to fall 
into the hands of this company. The company con- 
sisted of men of wealth and position, and they will be 
known henceforth as the Masonian Proprietors. 

Theodore Atkinson was a graduate of Harvard, in 
the class of 1718. Soon after leaving college, he was 
appointed clerk of the court of common pleas. He 
was many years colonel of the First Regiment New 
Hampshire Militia ; also was collector of customs, 
naval officer, and high sheriff of the province. He 
was appointed secretary of the province in 1741, and 
chief-justice of the supreme court in 1754. 

Mark Hunking Wentworth was a brother to Gov. 
Benning, and the father of the last royal governor, 
John Wentworth. 

Nathaniel Meserve built, in 1749, the "America," 
for the British government, — doubtless the first ship 
of the line built in America. He was a colonel of New 
Hampshire troops in the expedition against Crown 
Point, having the command at Fort Edward. In the 
second expedition against Louisbourg. in 1758, he and 
his son, Lieut. Nathaniel Meserve, fell victims to the 
small-pox. 

Col. Samuel Moore was a wealthy ship-master, at 
Portsmouth. He was one of the grantees of New 
Breton, now Andover. 

George Jaffrey, Joshua Pierce, Jotham Odiorne, 



62 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

and Richard Wibird were members of the council of 
the province, and Samuel Solly, who soon became one 
of the Masonian proprietors, by purchase or by the 
death of an original member, was also on the council 
board. 

The grantees of Warner, notwithstanding all these 
accumulating discouragements, kept heart as well as 
possible, and pushed ahead. They trusted that the 
Masonian proprietors would do the fair thing. They 
held a fully attended meeting at Amesbury, Decem- 
ber 18, 1749, and 

" Voted to build five houses in said Township, at 
the cost of the proprietors ; the dimensions to be ac- 
cording to the Act of Court." 

January 26, 1750, — less than six weeks after the 
above vote was passed, — the following record is found : 
" We the subscribers, pursuant to the above vote, 
have built four houses on the Township No. one in 
the line of towns agreeable to order of Court. 
Thomas Colby, Jarvis Ring, 
Moses Morrill, Gideon Straw." 

FURTHER ENCOURAGEMENT TO SETTLERS. 

At a meeting in Amesbury, Feb. 12th, of the same 
year,— 

"Voted that the five first families that will go and 
settle shall have the 5 houses voted last meeting and 



A NEW COMPLICATION — GRANT TO RYE. 63 

shall receive 20 pounds old tenor, provided they go 
there to work next spring and move their families by 
the last of September next." 

" att ye same meetinge voted that each proprietor 
pay his proportion of ye charge that has Been in 
Buldinge the Houses in said township at the next 
annuell meetinge." 

These houses stood on, or very near, the Stephen 
Davis muster-field. They were never occupied, but 
were burned by the Indians at the same time they put 
fire to the saw-mill. And so this scheme, also, ended 
in smoke. 

A NEW COMPLICATION— GRANT TO RYE. 

The Masonian proprietors, on the 14th day of 
March, 1749, granted the town of Warner to seventy- 
six men, seventy of whom belonged in Rye and New- 
castle. Most of these were Jennesses. The other 
six were Joseph Parsons of Bradford, Mass., Andrew 
McClary and John Blake, Jr., of Epsom, Stephen Ger- 
rish of Boscawen, Hunking Wentworth and Thomas 
Packer of Portsmouth. 

The Salisbury and Amesbury proprietors must have 
known of this grant when they were building houses 
and making other efforts to induce families to become 
settlers in Number One, but they regarded this grant 
to the Rye proprietors as conditional^ and they did 



64 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

not believe those proprietors would be able to fulfil 
the conditions prescribed. Too much space would be 
required to insert those conditions here. It is enough 
to say, they were extremely exacting and harsh. 

But at last the multitude of adversities (not the 
least of which was the renewal of the French and 
Indian war, which stopped the tide of emigration to 
the frontier) compelled the grantees of Warner to de- 
sist in their endeavors for the settlement of the town- 
ship. From 1750, onwards, for eight or ten years, 
" they rested from their labors," so far as caring for 
their interest in the " disputed territory" was con- 
cerned. 

It is evident, however, that they recommenced 
efforts for the settling of the town as soon as 1760 or 
1761. There are no records in existence covering 
this period, but there is proof that their agents or 
employes, in passing through Concord and Hopkinton, 
notified the inhabitants thereof that settlers in Num- 
ber One would receive a gift of 40 acres each, and 
liberal treatment, if they availed themselves of these 
offers promptly. 



OHAPTEE Y. 

A NEW EPOCH — SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN — DANIEL ANNIS — 
EEUBEN KIMBALL THE FIRST CHILD. 

.OLUMBUS discovered America in 1492. Capt. 
John Smith, of Jamestown memory, discovered 
the Isles of Shoals in 1614. Plymouth was settled 
in 1620 ; Dover, New Hampshire, and Portsmouth 
at Odiorne's Point, in 1623 ; Nashua, in 1673 ; Concord, 
in 1727 ; Boscawen and Canterbury, in 1734 ; Hop- 
kinton, in 1742, — but the inhabitants of that township 
left their homes a few years after this on account of 
the hostility of the Indians. They returned, how- 
ever, in 1752. Salisbury was settled in 1750; Hen- 
niker, in 1761 ; Warner, in 1762 ; Sutton, in 1767 ; and 
Bradford, in 1771. 

About the time of the settlement of Warner and 
the adjacent towns, the tide of emigration was setting 
strongly inland. Cheap land was sought for. The 
romance of a home on the frontier influenced thou- 
sands. Young men and young women were seeking 
the virgin soil of the wilderness. Many who had 



66 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

reached middle life were doing likewise. They did 
not hesitate to brave the trials and deprivations 
inseparable from a life in the woods. While many of 
these adventurers were called to endure disappoint- 
ment, hardship, and want, most of them bettered 
their condition by disposing of such proj)erty as they 
had nearer the sea, and going back into the unoccu- 
pied country. 

SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN. 

A peculiar interest attaches to those who happen 
to have been the first settlers in any town or place. 
We naturally desire to know who they were, where 
they came from, and how they fared. We are also 
interested in ascertaining the exact spot on which 
they settled, and the exact time when the event oc- 
curred. 

The curiosity of the readers of this volume will be 
gratified in these respects, for the author has been 
unexpectedly successful in searching for facts in rela- 
tion to these points. In the spring of 1762, the first 
settlements in Warner were made. Daniel Annis and 
Reuben Kimball, with their families, made these set- 
tlements. Kimball was the son-in-law of Annis, and 
they both came from Hopkinton. 

The Salisbury and Amesbury proprietors, not relin- 
quishing their claim to the township, began to make 
renewed exertions to people it as soon as 1761. They 



SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN. 67 

gave assurances that if they should maintain author- 
ity in the premises they would accord most generous 
treatment to anv and all who should become settlers 
in Number One. They were, indeed, hampered, and, 
one would think, utterly defeated in their enterprise, 
by the complications which have been referred to ; — 
but they still persisted in claiming the township as 
rightfully theirs ; and after a struggle of several years 
more, and the expenditure of large sums of money, 
they were victorious. 

As already stated, the first two families to settle in 
Warner were from Hopkinton, our nearest neighbor- 
ing town on the south-east. The home of Daniel An- 
nis was on the south-west slope of Putney's hill. He 
owned lot No. 5, on the west side of South Range, and 
lot No. 5 on the east side of the same range; and he 
lived on one of these lots. He also owned land on 
Sugar hill, and two intervale lots on the south side of 
Contoocook river. He had not been long a resident 
of Hopkinton, — not more than five or six years : in- 
deed, nobody had been there a great while. 

Charles Annis was born in Enniskillen, Great Brit- 
ain, in 1638. He came to Essex county, Massachu- 
setts, in 1666 ; and he is believed to be the common 
ancestor of all the Annises in New England. We soon 
find them in Newburyport, Amesbury, Bradford, and 
Haverhill. We find Daniel and John (brothers) in 
Bradford, Mass., as early as 1740. The proprietors 



68 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

and settlers of Penacook (Concord) belonged in Ha- 
verhill, Bradford, and that vicinity. About 1745, Dan- 
iel Annis disposed of his property in Bradford, and 
moved to Concord, New Hampshire. He settled the 
east side of the Merrimack, perhaps at or near the 
spot where the village of East Concord now stands. 
He was assigned, among others, in 1746, "to man the 
garrison near Captain Ebenezer Eastman's." In 1748 
he united, with others, in a petition to "His Excellen- 
cy Benning Wentworth, Captain General and Gover- 
nor of His Majesty's Province of New Hampshire," 
praying that a small number of soldiers might be 
placed in the garrison near Henry Lovejoy's grist-mill, 
" which he had erected at great expense, which was 
a good mill, and at a place the most advantageously 
to accommodate the three towns of Rumford [now 
Concord], Contoocook [now Boscawen], and Canter- 
bury." The petitioners set forth that "the ill con- 
sequences of abandoning the garrison the past year 
hath been severely felt by us." Lovejoy's mill was at 
West Concord, on the stream which is the outlet of 
Penacook lake. 

Hopkinton, though granted by Massachusetts, in 
1735, to citizens of Hopkinton in that province, soon 
found itself, as did Warner, outside the limits of that 
jurisdiction. A new charter had to be obtained, as in 
the case of Warner, and it had to come from the Ma- 
sonian proprietors. When this took place, most of 



SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN. 69 

the old Hopkinton grantees retired. The few origi- 
nal members that remained called a meeting in 1750, 
at Concord, N. H., to admit new proprietors, and to 
stimulate settlement. Daniel Annis, and several fam- 
ilies of the Kimballs, enlisted in this enterprise, and 
became settlers in Hopkinton. Annis became also a 
proprietor (he being a man of considerable means), 
but he did not move to Hopkinton till about 1757. 

Reuben Kimball's home, or that of his father (Jer- 
emiah), was on Putney's hill. The first Kimball that 
is found in this country is Henry. He came over in 
the Elizabeth, from Ipswich, England, in 1634, and 
settled in Watertown, Mass. A nephew of his, by 
the name of Caleb, came to Ipswich, Mass., and was 
killed in King Philip's war, at Bloody Brook, 1675. 
Richard, a brother of the latter, settled in Bradford, 
Mass., and raised a large family. Thomas, another 
brother, was an early settler at Bradford, and was 
killed by the Indians, May 3, 1676. At the same 
time his wife and five children were taken prisoners, 
and carried forty miles into the wilderness. On the 
13th day of June following they were set at liberty, 
and allowed to go home. 

The Kimballs soon abound in Essex county, and in 
other parts of Massachusetts. At as early a day as 
1746, a number of them are found in Concord, N. H. 
These came from Bradford and that vicinity. They 
are also among the early settlers of Hopkinton. Some 



70 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

of these came direct from Essex county, while others, 
like Daniel Annis, came first to Concord, and thence 
to Hopkinton. They settled near Kimball Fort, which 
stood on the highest point of land on the Concord 
road, a mile below Hopkinton village. They settled, 
also, on and around Putney's hill. Jeremiah Kimball 
came from Bradford, Massachusetts. He died in May, 
1764, aged 56, and was buried at the Old Fort on 
Putney's hill. He was the father of Reuben, who 
married Hannah, daughter of Daniel Annis, and set- 
tled in Warner in 1762. 

These two men, not being quite satisfied with their 
situation in Hopkinton, took a tramp up into town- 
ship Number One. This they did in the early sum- 
mer of 1761. It was but a short trip, and they came 
and returned the same day. They were pleased with 
the country, as well as with the liberal propositions 
which the proprietors of the township were making. 
They made a second journey, tarried longer, and se- 
lected their lots. During the summer and fall of this 
year they cleared a number of acres, sowed winter 
rye, and made preparations for building. Annis se- 
lected the ground where Paine Davis now resides. It 
was Lot 72 in the first survey, containing sixty acres. 
Kimball went up south-west, a third of a mile, and 
selected a forty-acre lot, which for many years con- 
stituted one half of the old Origen Dimond farm. It 
was Lot No. 26, of the first survey, but the lots were 



SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN. _ 71 

not surveyed and numbered till after these men had 
made their settlements. 

Annis had a large family, — not less than four 
sons and three daughters, now young men and 
young women. The sons were Daniel, Jr., Thomas, 
Moses, and Solomon, and the daughters were Hannah 
(Mrs. Kimball), Rachel, and Ruth. 

In the spring of 1762, these families " came to 
stay." Mr. Annis, the first of May, had his house 
completed. It stood on the little jjlat of ground 
between the main road and the railroad, just above 
Paine Davis's shed. The front door of the house was 
within ten feet of the present wall. The humble barn 
of this pioneer stood on ground which the present 
large barn on that place covers, aud the barnyard 
was where the shed now is. Across the road, on the 
side-hill, — perhaps five rods from the front of the 
house, — was a living spring, from which the family for 
years obtained their supply of water. But the spring 
became dry long years ago, and those who drew there- 
from thirst no more. 

Here, after fifty years of vicissitude and toil, Daniel 
Annis pitched his tent for the remainder of his life. 
He pitched wisely. Hopkinton had now a small num- 
ber of inhabitants, but none of them had crossed the 
Contoocook river to found their homes. To the 
northward, the habitation of no white family could be 
found this side of Canada. The stillness of the day 



HISTORY OF WARNER. 



and the silence of the night may have been, for a 
time, unwelcome to the stirring nature of Daniel An- 
nis. No stage-coach rolled along the public way ; no 
railroad train thundered by at the rear ; no wood- 
man's axe echoed in the distance ; no birds sang in 
the wilderness; — and yet it was a charming place. 
The soil was productive : a part of the intervale was 
open prairie land. A road, such as it was, led by the 
front door of the house, connecting New Hopkinton 
wdth the meeting-house lot in New Almsbury. The 
peaceful river was sweeping gently by, a few feet at 
the rear of the house, and the gray summit of old 
Kearsarge stood out boldly at the north. 

Daniel Annis brought a part of his family with him 
to this new home the first of May, 1762 ; but he left 
his wife, two unmarried daughters, and one or two 
sons at Putney's hill. He had not yet disposed of his 
property there. Reuben Kimball, and Hannah Annis 
his wife, came to Warner with the father, and, if we 
make no account of the Indians, Hannah Annis Kim- 
ball was the first woman who ever slept in town. 
Kimball and his wife made their home w^itli Mr. An- 
nis till the last of June. Having completed their 
humble log house and their humbler barn, and hav- 
ing dug and stoned their well, which was " seven feet 
deep," Reuben and Hannah, the SOtli day of June, 
1762, went up to this primitive home on the hill, 
there to make their abode. Six acres were then in 



SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN. 73 

corn, potatoes, and winter rye. The latter was now 
" five feet tall, with long heads, and beginning to 
turn." Kimball was 24 years of age, and his wife 22. 

Daniel Annis now broii2;ht other members of his 
family to Warner, — perhaps all the others. He lived 
here the remainder of his days (28 years), died in 
1790, and his dust sleeps in an unknown grave in the 
old cemetery at the Parade. 

When this Kimball lot was surveyed, and the title 
of the occupant to it was confirmed by .the Amesbury 
proprietors, it was numbered 26. It was a '^ gift lot," 
containing forty acres. It was half a mile long, and 
forty rods wide. The whole lot was annexed to the 
Dimond farm in 1767, but at a subsequent time it was 
divided. The south end (and the larger part of the 
lot) still Constitutes a part of that farm ; but the north 
end, on which Kimball's buildings stood, has for a 
great many years been a part of the Ira P. Whittier 
pasture, which was formerly owned by Oilman C. 
George, and by his father before him. 

To visit the site of the buildings where this young 
couple settled in 1762, one should go to the Ballard 
place (now owned and occupied by Marshall Dunbar); 
go up the new Joppa road from Dunbar's shop a few 
rods, and turn in to the left ; then follow Dunbar's 
cart-path up through his first and second fields ; get 
over the wall from the latter into Whittier's pasture, — 
and there, about twenty feet from the wall, will be 



74 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

found indistinct traces of the old cellar, and of the 
foundations of the house and barn. The old well is 
distinctly marked, and an ancient apple-tree stands 
near by. It is a sightly place, there being nothing to 
obstruct the view to the north, the east, or the west. 
But no buildings have stood on this ground to tell the 
story of the joys and sorrows of that young family, for 
a hundred and twelve years. A solemn air seems to 
pervade the place, for here, on this lonely height, a 
century and a sixth ago, on a dark October night, 
when the storm was howling down the mountain 
sides, the first child of Warnei^ was born ! 

Subsequently, another child was born here to the 
same parents, and still another ; but after living here 
five years, Kimball sold his farm to his brother-in-law, 
Abner Watkins, and moved to what is now known as 
the Kimball road, where he died in 1811. His son 
Jeremiah followed him on the same place. The two 
sons of Jeremiah, — Chellis F. and Reuben, — are 
well remembered by the people of Warner of the 
present day. 

This second home of Reuben Kimball, too, is de- 
serted. It was near the corner (sometimes called 
Kimball Corner) where one road leads off to Joppa, 
and the other down to the Parade. Four generations 
of Kimballs have lived at this place, — Reuben, senior, 
Jeremiah, Rev. Reuben, and his children. But the 
old two-story red house was taken away many years ■ 



THE FIRST CHILD. 75 

ago, and the farm, as a place of residence, was 
given up. 

The body of Reuben Kimball, the first, was buried 
at the Parade, under the blossoming apple-trees, near 
the wall, and not far from the south-east corner of the 
cemetery. On the slab that marks the grave are the 
following words : 

In Memory 

of 

Mr. Reuben Kimball, 

Who died May 2, 1811, 

Aged 73. 

THE FIKST CHILD. 

The place has now been designated where Warner's 
first child was born. The event occurred in October, 
1762. The baptismal name of this child was Daniel, 
and his life was one of quiet romance. Born and 
cradled in the region of hills, Daniel Kimball gazed, 
with youthful eye, on the grandeur of a broken coun- 
try. He learned to love the mountains, and when he 
" became of age," he made his adopted home in their 
very midst. He started out, in 1783 or 1784, to "seek 
his fortune." With a small bundle of clothes swuna: 
on a stick over his shoulder, he sallied forth. His eye 
was towards the north, — the country of cheap land ; — 
in fact, the country where the land was free to actual 

settlers. He travelled alone, passing through Sutton, 
6 



76 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

New London, Springfield, and on to Enfield, making 
the whole journey between " sun and sun." He put 
up at Enfield for the night. Archelaus Stevens and 
his family had gone up there from Hampstead, and 
settled, a few years before this time. Daniel Kimball 
stopped with this family, and ate and slept in their 
house. Polly Stevens was a blooming damsel of 
eighteen. Possibly Daniel K. was aware of her pres- 
ence in that house, but he pushed on the next morn- 
ing up into Canaan. He selected a lot on Sawyer's 
hill, in that town, and went industriously to work. 
Every Saturday night he returned to his patron fami- 
ly in Enfield. In due time Daniel Kimball and Polly 
Stevens were " no more twain." They made their 
pleasant and satisfactory home on Sawyer's hill. 
Their first house, to be sure, was made of logs, but 
it was just such a one as the male head of this little 
family had been born in, and there was no complain- 
ing. Within ten years from their first occupancy of 
this place, they had a comfortable frame house, and it 
stands to-day. It is good enough. Their farm was 
about an average one in that locality. It was good 
for wheat, oats, grass, and potatoes, but only moder- 
ately good for corn. Their roads were steep and 
rough, and they have not been much improved since 
that day. The home of Kimball was on the ridge of 
Sawyer's hill, two miles north-west from " Canaan 
street." At the rear of his buildings abruptly rises 



THE FIRST CHILD. 77 

Moose mountain, to the height of 2,300 feet. In front, 
at the south-east, and in full view to its very base, 
stands old Cardigan, lifting its silvery head 3,100 feet 
above the level of the sea. Thus the view from this 
point is very striking. 

Just across the road from the Kimball house, and 
not five rods from the front door, is a natural pond, 
embracing less than a sixteenth part of an acre. This 
pond, on the 28th day of August, 1878, was full of 
fragrant lilies. Here this couple settled down for 
life. Here they raised up, to be men and women, ten 
healthy children. Here they lived respected, and 
died in peace. 

The writer has pursued this "first child of Warner" 
to the end ; has found where he was born, where he 
performed his life-work, and where he died. He has 
followed him to his grave. He is inurned in the old 
cemetery on Sawyer's hill. A clump of red rose- 
bushes and a white marble slab mark his burial-place 
on the mountains. On this slab the chisel of the 
engraver has only said, — 

Daniel Kimball, 

Died July 29, 1843, 

Aged 80. 



CHAPTEE YI. 

proprietors' record — EFFORTS FOR COLONIZATION — GIFT LOTS 
— settlers' BOND — EARLY SETTLERS. 

PPARENTLY without much fear of the Jen- 
nesses before their eyes, the Salisbury and 
Amesbury proprietors met at Amesbury, in June, 
1763, and proceeded to business. The exact record 
of this meeting is in the words following : 

"att a Meeting of the Proprietors of township No. 
one in the line of towns, on ye 21st of June, 1763, 
voted that Joseph Jewell Francis Davis Moses Morrill 
and Daniel Quimby be a Committee to Go and hire a 
servayer and what help thay shall think Proper and 
Go and Run a Line Round said township att the same 
meeting voted to allow the committee half a Dollar 
per Day for thare time voted that this meeting be ad- 
journed to the 19th day of July next at Captain Jon- 
athan Barnard's house." 

This committee, for some unknown reasons, never 
performed the duty assigned them. They may have 
taken a tramp in some portions of the township, but 
they run no line round the town, and made no report 
of such transaction. 



proprietors' record. 79 

At the adjourned meeting, July the 19th, — 

"Voted that the first ten settlers Provided thay 
shall settel Emediately on s'^ township shall have for 
thare Incouragement a forty acre Loot of upland and 
five acres of Intervail Each, the five acres of Interval 
Nigh s^ upland." 

On the 9th day of August, 1763, the proprietors of 
Number One met again at the house of Capt. Jona- 
than Barnard, Innholder, in Amesbury, and after or- 
ganizing, — 

Voted to lay out a division of 60 forty-acre lots of 
the best land in the township, exclusive of intervale, 
and that Enoch Blaisdell, Barnard Hoyt, and Elipha- 
let Danford be a committee for laying out the said 
lots. 

At the same meeting, voted that the men that will 
first agree to settle in the township with their fami- 
lies shall have their choice of the forty-acre lots. 

Voted that each proprietor shall pay eighteen shill- 
ings, old tenor, to defray expenses of laying the set- 
tlers' division of lots. 

The names of those persons, who at this meeting 
agreed verbally; or by letter, to become settlers in 
township Number One, are as follows, viz. : 

Enoch Blaisdell, Barnard Hoyt, 

Eliphalet Danford, Daniel Flanders, 

Stephen Danford, Zebulon Flanders, 



80 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Samuel "Walker, Nathan Currier, 

Elijah Blaisdell, Bartholomew Heath, 

Moses Pressey, Joshua Bagley, 

Jeremy Fowler, Daniel Chase, 

Paskey Pressey, Isaac Chase, 

Thomas Jewell, Abner Watkins, 

William Eowell, Jr., Francis Davis, 
Nathan Goodwin. 

A part of these men became actual settlers j others 
settled only " by proxy." 

The proprietors met again the 30th of August, of 
the same year, to receive the report of the committee 
for laying out " Settlers' Lots." The committee re- 
ported that they had been upon their mission, and 
had laid out and numbered sixty 40-acre lots for set- 
tlers, but they presented no plan of their survey, and 
none is in existence. It is therefore impossible to de- 
termine the exact situation of those sixty lots. They 
were resurveyed and renumbered in 1770. The com- 
mittee were allowed for their service 75 pounds and 
4 shillings. 

SETTLERS' BOND. 

The proprietors of the township were generous to 
the first settlers. They granted to each one a 40-acre 
lot of land ; they granted, also, five acres of intervale 
land to each one of the first ten settlers who should 
apply immediately. Each settler as he came was to 



EARLY SETTLERS. 81 

make his own selection from the sixty lots till they 
should all be taken up. 

But there were obligations resting upon the other 
party. A bond had been agreed upon at some pre- 
vious meeting for the settlers to sign, the conditions 
of which were, that " each settler should build a 
house 16 by 18 feet square, or equivalent thereto, 
and clear three acres of land fit for grass, pasturing, 
or tillage, — the houses to be built in two months, and 
the land to be cleared in three months, after the lot 
had been selected." 

On the fulfilment of these requirements, the settler 
was to receive a deed of the 40-acre lot which he had 
selected and improved, and (if one of the first ten) a 
deed, also, of five acres of intervale " nigh said upland." 

EARLY SETTLERS. 

During the year 1763, a few families availed them- 
selves of the foregoing propositions, and became resi- 
dents of No. One. Daniel Flood came that year, and 
settled on what has long been known as Denney's 
hill. But he did not come from Rye, as many have 
believed. The Christian name of the first man in 
America by the name of Flood, was Edmund. He 
came to Plymouth, Mass., in the ship Ann, in 1623, 
but he disappears from there before 1627. He may 
have died, may have gone back to England, or may 
have removed to the new settlement at Merry Mount. 
The next one we find of this name is Henry Flood, 



82 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

in Boston. We find Richard Flood in Haverhill, in 
1741. In the roll of Capt. John Hazzan's company 
for the reduction of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, in 
1757, we find Daniel and Silas Flood. One of these 
was the father, and the other the uncle, of Daniel, 
Amos, and Richard (brothers), who came to Warner 
from Amesbiiry. 

Daniel Flood, prompted, undoubtedly, by the lib- 
eral ofiers of the proprietors of Warner, came to 
town a single man, in quest of a home. In pursuing 
his journey up the river, he called at the last house 
(that of Daniel Annis) for rest and refreshment. This, 
also, was the first house that he saw above the Con- 
toocook river. Before the snow flew the coming win- 
ter, he had his log house completed and in good order, 
on Denney's hill. He also had Rachel, second daugh- 
ter of Daniel Annis, safely domiciled there. Unlike 
old Jacob, our hero did not serve fourteen years, nor 
even seven, for his Rachel. She went promptly, and 
with the ready consent of her parents. Stingy old 
Laban was not there to speculate in his daughter's 
attractions. 

Paskey Pressey, with his family, came also from 
Amesbury, in 1763. He settled in Joppa, on the 
farm which Capt. Matthew D. Annis occupied after- 
wards for forty years, and on which James Emerson 
now resides. Mr. Pressey served in the Revolution- 
ary war. 



EARLY SETTLERS. 83 

Isaac Waldron and his two sons, Isaac, Jr., and 
Jacob, came the same year from the same town, and 
settled on that part of the Gould road called Wal- 
dron's hill. Jacob Waldron was one of the selectmen 
of Warner, being chosen at the first election after the 
incorporation of the town. His sons were Abraham, 
Isaac, Jacob, and Benjamin. 

Perhaps others came the same year, though there 
is no certainty of it. But from this time forward the 
settlement of the town was expedited. During the 
succeeding decade, the following persons, many of 
them with families, were added to the population of 
the youthful town, — viz., Daniel Flanders, Isaac Chase, 
Eliphalet Danforth, Francis Davis, Samuel Roby, 
Richard Goodwin, Joseph Currier, Philip Flanders, 
Abner Watkins, Elijah Blaisdell, Joshua Bagley, Dan- 
iel Chase, Daniel Young, Daniel Currier, Jeremy Fow- 
ler, Barnard Hoyt, Enoch Blaisdell, Parmenas Wat- 
son, Nehemiah Heath, Joseph Sawyer, Jacob Tucker, 
Moses Clark, Ebenezer Eastman, Theodore Stevens, 
Jonathan Fifield, David Gilmore, Seth Goodwin, Eze- 
kiel Goodwin, Joseph Foster, Abner Chase, Stephen 
Edmunds, Hubbard Carter, Thomas Rowell, Robert 
Gould, Theophilus Currier, and Nathaniel Trumbull. 

The sons of Daniel Annis each settled down upon 
his lot during this period. 

Daniel Flanders came from Hawke (now Danville); 
lived at the lower village, near the Henry B. Chase 



84 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

place. He was Warner's first town-clerk. His farm 
extended across the river, and the lightning struck 
one of his trees near the Hutchinson place, broke it 
down, and shivered it to pieces. Flanders hauled it 
home for firewood, and, in doing this, stuck a sliver 
into his hand. He got cold in this slight wound, and 
died. From that circumstance most of the people be- 
lieved, and some believe to this day, that the electric 
fluid poisons the wood, and that a scratch from a 
splinter of such a tree is sure death. 

Isaac Chase came from Amesbury ; settled first on 
the Stephen George place, afterwards on the Moses F. 
Colby farm. He often served as moderator of town- 
meetings, and as selectman. He was one of the early 
representatives of the " classed towns." 

Francis Davis was from Amesbury. He settled at 
Davisville, and was prominent in the affairs of the 
town and state for many years, as the records herein- 
after will show. His sons were, Zebulon, Wells, Fran- 
cis, Aquila, Paine, and Nathan. 

Samuel Rohy settled in Schoodac, near the Bos- 
cawen line, where he died at a good old age. He had 
a large family, and one son (Hiram) yet remains. 

Richard Goodwin came from South Hampton, and 
settled just above Rev. William Kelley's, between the 
Parade and Kimball Corner. He was a brother to 
Ezekiel and Seth. 

Joseph Currier was from Amesbury. He lived at 



EARLY SETTLERS. 85 

the present Richard S. Foster place. He was the 
father of Jacob and Capt. Benjamin Currier, and the 
grandfather of the late John Currier, Jr. He was 
familiarly known, in his day, as " Ensign Jo Currier." 

Philip Flanders was from Hawke. a brother to 
Daniel, who came to Warner with him, and to James 
and Christopher, who came afterwards. Philip settled 
where the symmetrical elm tree now stands, it being 
the first place on the Schoodac road. He was the 
father of " Major Philip," who lived on the pine plain, 
and who is yet remembered by many of the people of 
Warner. 

Abner Watkins was from Nottingham West (now 
Hudson). He settled in Joppa, on Lot 25, by the 
first survey; and in 1767 he bought Lot No. 26 of 
Eeuben Kimball, for £40 lawful money. He lived on 
the exact spot where the Origen Dimond house now 
stands. He married Ruth, the youngest daughter of 
Daniel Annis. He was one of the early selectmen of 
Warner. He was also a Revolutionary soldier. After 
a residence of several years in Joppa, Watkins ex- 
changed farms with William Merrill, of Nottingham 
West, went back to his birth-place, and Merrill came 
to Warner. In due time, Merrill conveyed the farm 
to Isaac Sweat, of Boscawen. Sweat conveyed it to 
Samuel Pearson, of Newburyport, Pearson to Isaac 
Dimond, Dimond to his son Origen, and the latter to 
Smith Rand. Watkins, in 1793 or 1794, returned 



86 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

to the shadow of Kearsarge, and settled in the 
Gore. 

Joshua Bagley was from Salisbury, Mass. He set- 
tled at the jDresent Samuel H. Dow place, by Bagley's 
bridge. His son David, who was town-clerk thirty- 
nine or forty years, occupied the same firm till his 
death, as did also his grandson Joshua. 

Daniel Young was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
army. He lived on land now owned by Levi Bartlett, 
some little distance south of the Gould road and west 
of Bartlett brook. His buildings were destroyed by 
fire. 

Daniel Currier came from Amesbury, and settled in 
Joppa, where his son, Zebulon D., long resided, and 
where his grandson, Charles Currier, now lives. He 
was the father of Stej)hen, Daniel, Jr., Zebulon D., and 
Nathan. 

Barnard Hoyt was from Amesbury. His lot was at 
Waterloo, on the south side of the river. He was the 
ancestor of David and Barnard Hoyt. 

Parmenas Watson settled in Joppa, near the Clarks. 
There is no house now standing on the place which 
he occupied, but a barn remains. The present Joppa 
school-house is very near the site of the house in 
which he lived and died. He was one of the first dea- 
cons of the Congregational church, and he frequently 
served as selectman of the town. He was the father 
of Jonathan, and the grandfather of Capt. Cyrus. 



EARLY SETTLERS. 87 

Neliemiah Heath came from Hampstead, and settled 
at the place where John Tewksburj now resides, near 
the site of the old " Kelley stand." He, also, was one 
of the first deacons of the Congregational chmxh. 
His son, Dea. David Heath, followed him, on the farm 
and in the church. 

e/osef)/i Sawyer was also from Hampstead. He set- 
tled near the old cemetery, on the right hand side 
of the road leading up to Joppa. His sons were 
Moses and Edmund : the one lived near Bear pond, 
and the other at what is now called " the old poor-farm." 

Jacob Tucker was a soldier of the Revolution. His 
home in Warner was on land now owned by the Har- 
ris family, on Tory Hill road. 

Ehenezer Eastman was from Concord. He settled 
on Waldron's hill, — a soldier of the Revolution. 

Theodore Stevens was also from Concord. He took 
up a settler's lot on Waldron's hill, but never really 
made his home in town. 

Ehenezer Stevens, his son, took possession of the lot, 
and occupied it many years. But most of his life- 
time was spent on the river above Roby's Corner, 
where he was surrounded by a large family, all en- 
gaged in manufacturing business. 

Jonathan Fifleld lived just below Gould Annis's, 
on the south side of the main road, but did not re- 
main long in town. His wife had the misfortune of 
being considered a witch. 



88 HISTORY OF "WARNER. 

David Gilmore was from Amesbury. He first set- 
tled at Davisville, then on the Gould road, and last in 
school district No. 8, near Wiggin Corner. He was 
the father of John and Mitchell, and the grandfather 
of Mitchell, Jr., Aiken, Elijah R., and others. 

Seth Goodwin was from South Hampton, or Ames- 
bury. He settled on the Moulton place, in Schoodac. 

Ezekiel Goodwin (a brother to Richard and Seth) 
lived at the Dea. Bailey place, where John Johnson 
now resides. He was a temperance man at that early 
day. When, in the Revolution, the regiment to which 
he belonged was called out to do picket duty for the 
night, a ration of rum was issued to each man. Good- 
win did n't drink, but he made the rum serviceable to 
himself He always found a man to take his place on 
guard, — however black or bleak the night, — for his 
gill of liquor. Whether the rigid prohibitionists of 
to-day would approve this practice, " deponent know- 
eth not." 

Jo8ej)li Foster came from Amesbury, lived in the 
Kimball district, where David Foster, his grandson, 
now resides. His sons were Joseph and Benjamin, 
and his grandsons living in Warner are David and 
Stephen. 

Abner Chase was a brother to Isaac and Daniel. 
He lived at one time in Waterloo ; was a soldier in 
the Revolution. 

Stephen Edmunds was from Amesbury. He settled 



EARLY SETTLERS. 89 

where his grandson by the same name now resides, 
on Tory hill. His son John, who was the father of 
the last Stephen, occupied the farm during his lifetime. 

Huhhard Carter was on Tory hill, at the " Ben Sar- 
gent place," which is now in possession of a son of 
Abner Sargent. Carter was in the Revolution. 

Robert Gould came from Amesbury, and settled on 
the Gould road. He was a brother to Jonathan and 
Amos, and the father of John and David. 

Theophilus Currier was from Amesbury. He set- 
tled at the "Kiah Corner," near the Evans Davis 
place. His sons were Enoch, William, and Theophi- 
lus. The sons of Enoch, are Enoch, the 2d (now liv- " 
ing), and Jesse D. Ezekiel G. Currier, the tanner, 
was a son of William. 

Nathaniel Trumhidl, a Revolutionary soldier, was 
born at Concord, in 1746. He settled in Schoodac, 
near John Jones's, and died there seventy-five years 
ago. 

Daniel Annis, Jr., settled on the Ira P. Whittier 
place. He received a forty-acre lot as a settler at 
that place, and he bought the lot and gore which 
constitute the Ballard farm, and added that to his 
domain. 

Thomas Annis selected his forty acres just below 
his father's, at the Samuel H. Dow place. He built 
his house and other buildings on the upper side of 
the road, where the old cellar is now visible. In 



90 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

1771, Thomas bought of his father, Daniel Annis, sen- 
ior (who was now growing old and infirm), the home- 
stead of the old gentleman. The Hillsborough coun- 
ty records show that Thomas paid his father £180, 
lawful money, for the sixty acres of land where he 
then lived, with the house and barn thereon, " the 
said land being all the land which was granted unto 
me, the said Daniel Annis, by the Proprietors of the 
township of New Almsbury, as a settler." This is the 
Paine Davis place. After this purchase, Thomas went 
there to live. He built on the exact spot where the 
house now stands, and probably built the identical 
house that Davis now occupies. 

Thomas Annis was thrifty, and by additional pur- 
chases was soon in possession of a large estate. The 
land all about Tom pond was his, and the pond owes 
its name to this circumstance. 

Moses Annis took his forty acres as a settler, where 
Moses G., commonly called Gould Annis, now resides ; 
but Gould does not descend from tJiis Moses. He 
left no heirs. Gould was the son of Moses, which 
was the son of Thomas, which was the son of Daniel. 
He is therefore a great-grandson of the original settler. 

Solomon Annis selected his forty acres still further 
down the main road. The old cellar which he duo- is 
distinctly seen, but it has been covered by no house 
for a great many years. Pass down the road from 
Moses G. Annis's, cross the little brook and rise the 



EARLY SETTLERS. 91 

hill nearly to the top, turn square to the left, get over 
the fence and go a few rods towards the railroad, and 
there will be seen the cellar which Solomon Annis 
finished the day he was twenty-one years of age. 

In April, 1778, " Solomon Annis, of township No. 6, 
county of Lincoln, in the Province of Mass. Bay," 
deeded to Moses Annis this lot of land which he had 
received as a settler, for £28 lawful money. This 
Lincoln county lies on the coast of Maine, beyond 
the Kennebec. Solomon Annis, having a roving dis- 
position, had gone down there, glowing representa- 
tions having been made of the richness of the coun- 
try, and of the chances for thrift. He soon found 
however, that all was not sunshine in that place. He 
packed up and returned with his family to Warner, 
where he ended his days. 

Each one of the settlers already named availed 
himself of the generous offer of the proprietors, and 
selected' his gift-lot according to his own best judg- 
ment. Most of them did wisely in coming. They 
were generally destitute of means, but were willing 
to work, and anxious to better their fortunes. They, 
and those who followed them in succeeding years as 
settlers, came with no pomp or parade, but in the 
most quiet, humble, and undemonstrative way. "Not 
many wise men, after the flesh, not many mighty, not 
many noble," indeed, not many of very lofty preten- 
sions, were among the early settlers of Warner. 



OHAPTEE TIL 

EARLY SETTLERS, CONTINUED — BOAT ON THE CONTOOCOOK — 
SECOND SAW-MILL. 

I URING the Eevoliitionary war, and for several 
'M' years after its close, settlements were made in 
Warner with encouraging rapidity. But the gift-lots 
had been appropriated, and settlers now had to pay 
money for their lands. Perhaps they could better 
afford to do this than the first comers could afford to 
accept them as a gift. It would be a difficult task to 
determine in what order the settlers came to town in 
those years, and that task is not attempted here. 

The names of many of the early settlers of Warner 
do not appear in the following catalogue, because 
they appear elsewhere on these pages. The names 
of others, who are as worthy as the best, do not 
appear at all, because the writer has no knowledge of 
them, and because it is not the purpose of this book 
to notice every individual, nor even every family. 

Ephraim Morrill came from Amesbury, and settled 
at the Moses Morrill place, near the Pumpkin Hill 
school-house. He had, at least, two sons, — Ephraim, 



EARLY SETTLERS. 93 

born in 1790, and Moses, born in 1794. The old 
homestead is occupied by the widow, and a son of the 
latter. 

Christopher Flanders, a brother to James, came 
from Hawke, remained but a few years in town, and 
removed to Canada. 

Samuel Savory was from Derry. He first settled at 
the Quimby or Jacob Chase place, within the limits of 
Salisbury, then moved into the Gore. His sons were 
Robert, John, and Daniel, and his only grandsons now 
in Warner, are Jesse, George, and John. [See account 
of tornado.] 

Moses Colby settled in Warner, on Burnt hill. He 
was the father of Samuel, and the grandfather of 
Charles H. and Samuel W. He was born in Newton, 
N. H. After his arrival in Warner he lived fifteen 
years in a log house without chimney or windows. 
His grandson, Samuel W., occupies the original home- 
stead. 

Asa Harriman was of the fifth generation from 
Leonard, who came from Yorkshire, England, in 1640, 
and settled in Rowley, Mass. Asa's father was a sol- 
dier in the French war, and also in the Revolution. 
He moved from Georgetown, Mass., to Epping, N. H., 
in 1777. Asa, at the age of 18, went to live with his 
uncle, Capt. Benjamin Evans, of Rocky hill, Salisbury, 
Mass. He there married his wife, and in 1787, at 
the age of 21, settled in Warner. On the 9th day of 



94 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

March, 1794, he Avas killed while felling trees. He was 
then 28 years of age. He left a family of four chil- 
. dren, — two girls, one six and the other four years of 
age, and two boys, Benjamin E., aged three years, and 
David E., aged one. His widow lived sixty-two years 
to a day after his decease. 

Hezekiali Colby came from Amesbur}'', and made a 
temporary home between the Parade and Rev. Will- 
iam Kelley's house. In the course of six months or 
a year he selected a farm for his future residence, it 
being the Mark Colby place. His sons were Chellis 
F., Philip, Willaby, Samuel, and John P. 

Levi Colby was a brother to this Hezekiah. He set- 
tled at the Fair Ground ; and the railroad, when it 
came along, ploughed through his old cellar. Fred 
Myron Colby, the young writer of Warner, is a great- 
grandson of this Levi, being the son of Levi 0., who 
was the son of Valentine, who was the son of Levi. 

David Colby was another brqther to Hezekiah. He 
lived at the Willaby Colby place, which is now owned 
by Francis Robbins. He was the father of William, 
who was drow^ned in the great freshet of 1824, and of 
David, who died not many years since. The latter 
was a good, honest soul, but a little peculiar. His 
face was set like a flint against innovation. The cut- 
ting of the railroad up through his old homestead 
vexed him very much. When inquired of how the 
railroad folks were getting on up there, his character- 



EARLY SETTLERS. 95 

istic answer was, ^^They goes headlong, and they're going 
to the devil ! " 

Simeon BmHlett, a brother to Joseph and Richard, — 
a son of Simeon Bartlett, of Amesbury (one of the 
proprietors of Warner), — settled on the north-eastern 
slope of Burnt hill, but died at an early age. His 
daughter married Dr. Lyman. 

Benjamin Hill was from Hopkinton. His farm was 
the present Warner poor-farm, on Burnt hill. 

Josiah Melvin was from Pelham. Melvin's Mills vil- 
lage takes it name from him. Some of his descend- 
ants are yet in Warner, but the family, like most 
others in this day of enterprise and easy transit, are 
much scattered. 

lliomas Barnard, who settled at the North village, 
near the present residence of his son, Joseph 0., was 
from South Hampton. 

John Clement, father of John, and grandfather of 
John W., was from Salisbury, N. H. John W. Clem- 
ent's farm, on Tory hill, was the homestead of the 
first John, and the second. 

Isaiah Flanders, whose home was at Warner vil- 
lage, was from South Hampton. He had several 
daughters, one of whom married Nehemiah Ord- 
way, another a Mr. Dike, and another a Mr. Tewks- 
bury. 

Francis Davis came from Amesbury, in 1789, and 
settled on a good farm near the Kiah Corner. His 



96 HISTORY OP WARNER. 

grandson, Evans Davis, now occupies the same place. 
His sons were William F. and Francis Davis; and of 
his daughters, one married Nathan Foster, another 
Major Joseph S. Hoyt, and another a Mr. Whitcomb. 

Ehenezer SargenU father of Dea. James, and great- 
grandfather of Alfred W. Sargent, of the North vil- 
lage, was from Amesbury. He settled where Dea. 
James Sargent lived most of his lifetime, and where 
Willaby Colby and his son John now reside. 

Isaac Walker settled in Schoodac, his house being 
on ground now within the limits of Schoodac ceme- 
tery. He did not remain long at this particular place. 
He was in the Eevolutionary war. Philip Walker 
was his son, Isaac and Barnard Walker his grand- 
sons, and Abiel is his great-grandson. 

mdiavd F. Rogers, father of John, Thomas, and 
Joseph S., was from Newburyport. 

The Dhnonds, — Ezekiel, Israel, and Isaac (broth- 
ers), — were from Dimond's hill, in Concord. Ezekiel 
settled in the Mirick neighborhood, where his son Cal- 
vin lived and died. Israel (generally called " Potter 
Dimond") lived at Dimond's Corner, and Isaac lived in 
Joppa, where his son, Capt. Origen, resided many years. 

Nathaniel C. Whiiiier, the father of Richard B., was 
from Salisbury, Massachusetts. lie came to Warner 
in 1795, and died at Waterloo in 1815, aged 31. His 
widow lived to the age of 93, and died a few years 
ago at Warner village. 



EARLY SETTLERS. 97 

Deacon Bailey was from Haverhill, Mass. He 
bought his farm (which is now owned by John John- 
son) of Ezekiel Goodwin. His sons were Dudley, 
Robert, and Webster Bailey. 

Capt. John Denney was an Englishman, and a sea- 
faring man. He lived on Denney's hill after the 
Flood family were gone, and gave name to that 
pleasant eminence. His children all died young. 

Dea. Jonathan Wiggin was from Stratham. He 
was the father of Lot, Jonathan, Thomas, George 
W., and Stephen. Thomas occupies the old home- 
stead. 

Philip Osgood was from South Hampton. He set- 
tled at Waterloo, where John Davis, 2d, resides. He 
was the father of Levi, Caleb, Jacob, Joseph, Tappan, 
Philip, and Nehemiah. The second generation have 
all passed away, and the only grandsons of Philip, 
senior, now living in Warner, are Noah, John, and 
Jacob, sons of Jacob. 

Reiiben Clough, the father of Joseph and Reuben, 
was from Sandown. He settled in Schoodac, at the 
Wm. D. Trumbull place. He was the grandfather of 
Reuben Clough, Jr., and of Joseph, Jr. 

Isaac Dalton was from Salisbury, Massachusetts. 
He came to Warner in 1784, and settled in the North 
village, where Levi 0. Colby resides, at the foot of 
the Minks. Here he carried on both farming and 
tanning. Late in life he removed with his family to 



98 HISTOEY OF WARNER. 

the main road, at the lower end of Warner village, 
and there died in 1838. Mrs. John Stewart was his 
daughter, and his sons now living are Col. Isaac and 
Dr. John E. Dalton, both in the West. 

Philip Colby, the father of Thomas and Philip, 3d, 
and the grandfather of Timothy L., came from South 
HamiDton, and settled on a great farm in school dis- 
trict No. 10. His grandson, Timothy L,, is in posses- 
sion of the old homestead. 

John Colby was a brother to the above Philip, but 
a much older man. He had one son, Hezekiah, 2d. 
His house was near the Caleb Kelley place, on the 
north side of the Mink hills. Hezekiah lived and died 
on the old homestead, but it is now deserted. 

The Sargents, — William, Stephen, and Abner (broth- 
ers), — were from Amesbury. William was the father 
of Capt. William R and of Abner, Jr. ; Stephen, the 
ftither of Abner on Tory hill, of Daniel, and of Jacob 
R, deceased; and Abner, the father of Harrison K. 
They all lived between the Burnt Hill school-house 
and Smith's Corner. 

Benjamin Currier was from Deerfield. He settled 
on Pumpkin hill, near the old cemetery. He had at 
least two sons, — Benjamin and Daniel P., — who reside 
in Manchester, and carry on the carriage business 
there. He had, also, certainly one daughter, who 
married Capt. Safford Watson, and who is now living, 
a widow, at Sutton Mill Village. 



EARLY SETTLERS. 99 

Stephen Currier was a brother to Benjamin. He 
also lived on Pumpkin hill, but further on towards 
the mountain. He was both farmer and tailor. Only 
one of his sons (Robert Davis Currier, of Bedford) is 
now living. 

David Hardy, the father of Dea. Jesse, was from 
Amesbury. He settled in Joppa, where his grandson, 
Josiah C. Hardy, now resides. 

Stephen Hardy was from Bradford, Mass. He set- 
tled near Hardy Springs. His sons were Joseph, 
Daniel, and Solomon. 

Daniel Watson lived in Joppa. Capt. George "Wat- 
son was his son, and the sons of George were Alfred, 
Daniel, George, and perhaps others. 

Abijah Watson lived in the corner of Salisbury. He 
was a farmer and a minister. His sons were Elder 
Joseph (whose home was where John Shepherd Davis 
resides, near Bradford pond), Nicodemus, Abijah, 
David, and Jonathan. 

Caleb Watson was a brother to Abijah, and the 
two lived in the same neighborhood. The sons of 
Caleb were Ithamar, Safford, Moses, Caleb, and per- 
haps others. 

Ephraim Rand was from Rye. He built the house 
at the Lower village which stands across the old Hen- 
niker road from the yellow store. He was the father 
of J. Noyes Rand. 

Nathaniel Page was from Weare. He settled in 



100 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

the westerly part of Warner, where his son Samuel 
followed hmi, and the latter's son, Nathaniel, followed 
him. 

Paul Page, a relative, came from Derry, and bought 
the Samuel Morrill farm. He removed, in his old 
age, to Warner village, and there died a few years 
since. 

Oliver Hall was from Hollis. His old farm is now 
in possession of one or more of the sons of Cyrus 
Colby. 

The Badgers, — Benjamin and Stephen (brothers), — 
were sons of Obadiah Badger, of Amesbury, who 
served fourteen years in the French and Revolution- 
ary wars. They came to Warner not far from 1785, 
and settled near together, and not far from the resi- 
dence of Ebenezer S. Badger. The sons of Benjamin 
were Elliot C, Stephen C, and the aforesaid Eben- 
ezer S. 

Stephen Badger served in the Revolution, was 
taken prisoner, carried to England, and confined in 
Dartmoor prison. When called on, with others, to 
swear allegiance to the king in order to secure re- 
lease, he gave what might be called a profane answer, 
but one that did credit to his patriotic blood. When 
the officer in charge said to this mere boy (for he was 
little more than that), " Sir, are you ready to swear 
allegiance to the king?" the young hero replied, 
"Begad, I don't know your king!" The king pro- 



EARLY SETTLERS. 



101 



nounced him "an obdurate boy," but ordered his 
release. 

Eliot Colby was from Amesbury. He settled on the 
road between the Parade and Kimball Corner. His 
sons were John (who lived through life on the old 
homestead), Ezekiel, and Stephen. Elliot and his son 
Stephen were Revolutionary soldiers. 

Gideon Davis was from Amesbury, — a brother to 
Capt. Francis Davis. He settled near the "Great 
falls," on the Moses Davis farm. His sons were John 
(the carpenter), Robert, Gideon, and Moses. 

3Ioses llirick was born in Newburyport in 1773; 
came with the family to Boscawen in 1780 ; settled, 
first, on becoming of age, in Henniker, and then in 
"Warner, where his youngest son, William, resides. 
Edmund Mirick, of Henniker, is another son of his, 
and Henry E. is a grandson. The family have, in 
recent years, changed the orthography of the name to 
Merrick. 

The Emersons, — Eliezer and Ithamar (brothers), — 
came from Concord, N. H., in 1795. They bought 
two adjoining farms near Waterloo. Eliezer had a 
son by the same name, who occupied the old home- 
stead till 1845, when he went, with his family, to Wis- 
consin. He died there in August of the same year, 
aged 50. 

Ithamar had one son (Jonathan), who lived to ma- 
ture age, and occupied the old homestead the larger 



102 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

part of his life. His only son (Reuben) died in the 
war, and his only living daughter is Mrs. William G. 
Andrews. 

Timothy L. Dowlin came from the old country, and 
settled at the Amaziah Hall place in Bradford. He 
was the grandfather of John H., Timothy Leavitt, 
Mrs. Moses E. Gould, and others. 

Jere Wheeler, the father of Moses D., came from 
Dunbarton to Warner. He built a blacksmith shop 
at Kimball Corner, but afterwards was at the village. 

Zehulon Flanders, of South Hampton, married Han- 
nah French, of Kingston, settled at the North village, 
where Capt. Timothy and Walter M. Flanders now 
reside, and had children by the following names : 
Nathaniel, Ezekiel, Zebulon, Benjamin F., Levi, Tim- 
othy, Hannah, John, and Washington. 

Moses Flanders, the father of Ezekiel, Amos, John, 
and Col. William G., was a brother to Zebulon. He 
came from South Hampton. 

Henry Johnson, the father of Capt. John H., Moses, 
Capt. Stephen B., and Henry, came from Sutton, and 
settled in School District No. 10. 

Caleb Kelley was from Amesbury, or that vicinity. 
He settled, first, on the main road, above Waterloo, 
and "Kelley hill" takes its name from him. He went 
from there to the north side of the Mink hills. His 
son Caleb occupied this latter place till his death, 
when the remnant of the family moved to Wisconsin. 



EARLY SETTLERS. 103 

Samuel Brown settled on Bible hill, where his 
youngest son, John H., resides. The rest of the sons 
have departed this life. Two of them, Capt. Newell 
and Jeremiah, died in Ohio. 

Isaac Day lived in the south-west corner of the 
town, on the main road from Bradford to Henniker. 
He was a large farmer, a taverner, and a manufac- 
turer of gravestones ; besides, he sometimes preached. 
The little horn-pout pond in that quarter received its 
name from him. He had a large family. One of his 
sons is now in Bradford and another in Tennessee, 
but most of his numerous descendants are on " the 
unseen shore." 

Jacob Wkitcomh was born in Stow, Mass., in 1743. 
He came to Henniker in 1770, and to Warner about 
1780. He settled where his son John died a few 
years since. His wife was Olive Wetherby, also of 
Stow. He was usually called Doctor Whitcomb, be- 
cause he could pull a tooth or set a broken bone 
quite successfully, though he was neither dentist nor 
surgeon. He was a leading farmer. 

Farrington Hawks came from Hudson, and com- 
menced in the wilderness of Warner on what is 
known as the Jonathan Straw place. After remaining 
there two years, he made a second start in the un- 
broken forest. This was near Bradford pond, on the 
farm now occupied by John Shepherd Davis. Mr. 
Hawks built a log house here, and made a good be- 



104 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

ginning. Having no barn, he threshed his grain on a 
ledge, and carried it on his back three or four miles, 
through wood-paths, to Hoyt's mill (since Melvin's.) 
He remained on this farm a few years, and then made 
his third start. He bought of Joshua Pierce, of Ports- 
mouth, one of the Masonian proprietors, a hundred- 
acre lot in the western range of Warner, on Bible 
hill. He cleared fourteen acres on this lot, and then 
sold it to Enos Collins, of Burnt hill, who took pos- 
session about the year 1802, and erected the first 
frame house on that road. This place is now owned 
and occupied by J. Herbert Ewings. Mr. Hawks, for 
his fourth and last move, simply crossed the highway, 
and took possession of a lot in Bradford. Mrs. Nathan 
Marshall and Mrs. Timothy Dowlin were his daugh- 
ters, and Colburn and David were his sons, Colburn 
occupied the old homestead during his lifetime. 

Daniel Sanborn was born in Raymond in 1767. He 
married Betsey, daughter of Jacob Whitcomb, and 
settled in the chestnut region of Warner. He had a 
large family of children, now all dead. The names of 
the sons were Jacob, Moses, Daniel, John, and Ste- 
phen. The old homestead is now occupied by the 
widow of John, and Warren, her son. 

Nathan Colby was from South Hampton. He set- 
tled on the place now owned by Samuel Sargent, on 
the Slaughter Brook road. His sons were Barnard, 
Jacob, Mark, Nathan, and Cyrus. 





M 



<^^^L^ 0{f. 




EARLY SETTLERS. 105 

Jonathan Hardy came from Bradford, Mass., and 
settled at the Marden Seavey place, on Tory hill. 
His sons were Thaddeus, John, Paul, Silas, and per- 
haps there were others. Among his grandsons are 
Darius, John A., Bartlett, Sylvester, Orin, and Ori- 
son. 

Orison Hardy (a grandson of Jonathan) was born 
at Warner, Nov. 30, 1823. The Hardys came from 
England. Thomas Hardy, or Hardie, was one of the 
first twelve who settled in Ipswich, Mass. This oc- 
curred in 1633. Joseph Hardy settled at Salem in 
1634. His son James (a mariner) married Ruth 
Marsh, and had a large family. His son Joseph mar- 
ried, in 1648, Mary, a daughter of John Grafton, "a 
man of repute." 

John Hardy, a brother to Joseph, the first, of 
Salem, settled there in 1634. He was selectman of 
that town in 1647, and perhaps for several years. He 
died in 1652. He had a son John, who settled in 
Bradford, Mass. This John had a son Thomas, and 
this Thomas a son John, who is believed to have been 
either the father or the grandfather of Jonathan, who 
came to Warner and settled on Tory hill. 

Silas Hardy, one of the sons of Jonathan, married 
Rhoda, daughter of Abner Harvey. He was a famous 
school-teacher in his day, and also a teacher of sing- 
ing. The names of his children are as follows : Leon- 
ard, Sylvester, Alraina (Mrs. William R. Sargent), Jo- 



106 HISTORY OF "WARNER. 

sepli Warren, Rhoda, James, Orison, Nancy (Mrs. Levi 
Sargent), and Andrew J. 

Orison Hardy, at the age of 20, became a clerk in 
the store of his uncle, Ira Harvey, and thus remained 
for a period of five years. In 1848 he went to Man- 
chester, engaged in the West India goods business, 
and carried it on successfully about nine years, when 
his health failed. He then sold out, and in the sum- 
mer of 1857 travelled extensively in the West, with a 
view of settling there. On returning home to make 
arrangements for following the " star of empire," his 
oldest child died, and his wife, broken in health, per- 
suaded him to remain near the graves of his kindred. 
In 1859 Mr. Hardy became the travelling salesman of 
Dorr, Proctor & Co., of Boston, — a business at that 
time almost in its infancy. He remained the faithful 
agent of this firm about 15 years, and till its dissolu- 
tion, when he took a like position with the firm of 
Briggs & Shattuck, which he now holds. 

Mr. Hardy joined the Baptist church at Warner in 
1843, and was elected one of the deacons of the First 
Baptist church of Manchester when but 32 years of 
age, which office he still continues to honor. He 
married Dolly A. Campbell, of Manchester, November, 
1846. Their children were Charles Augustus, Ellen 
F., and Frank Herbert. Only the latter is living. Mrs. 
Hardy died in 1870, and in 1871 Mr. Hardy married, 
for his second wife, Miss Frances Brown, of Boston. 



EARLY SETTLERS. 107 

It will be seen that most of these emigrants came 
from Amesbury and that vicinity. The road which 
they generally travelled led through South Hampton, 
Kingston, Hawke, and Chester ; passed by the " Devil's 
den," on the east shore of the Massabesic ; thence on 
through Pembroke, Concord, and Hopkinton, to the 
point of destination. Some bore further to the right : 
leaving Kingston, they passed through Poplin, Ray- 
mond, Deerfield, and on to Pembroke. Just before, 
during, and immediately after the Revolution, emigra- 
tion was brisk, and humble adventurers were often 
seen plodding along these thoroughfares. They made 
no display. Nothing like pagentry attended them 
on the toilsome journey. They came with ox teams ; 
they came on foot ; they rode double, on horse-back, 
and sometimes the patient woman had a child in her 
arms, and the steady old horse jogged along with 
three on his back. They had no money to spend at 
" tavern houses," for either victuals or drink. In most 
cases they took their commissary supplies for the 
journey from the homes they left. While no very 
great prospect was before them, they generally felt 
assured that brighter days were in store, and while 
they were sad, they were cheerful. 

All these have passed away. They have joined 
" the innumerable caravan." While many of them 
were prospered in life according to reasonable expec- 
tation, others, alas ! were called by the tide of un- 



108 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

toward events to stand over the grave of many an 
early dream. 

BOAT ON THE CONTOOCOOK. 

Before 1766, people, in coming to or going from 
Warner, found much difficulty and suffered much de- 
lay at the Contoocook river. There was no bridge 
there, and no proper ferry-boat. Rafts made of logs 
were improvised, to carry horses, cattle, and other 
heavy freight over the stream, and a small dug-out 
stood tied at the bank to carry over the people. 

At a legal meeting, held in Hopkinton, May 28, 
1766, Lt. John Putney was chosen moderator, and the 
following votes were passed: 

" Voted to Buld a Boat at Controock river as Big 
as Deacon merrill's fary Boat is at Concord. 

" Voted to buld tlie Boate By the first of July in 
suing the Date. 

"Voted that s*^ Boate Shall becept whare they now 
pass over Controocook River from hopkinton to New 
amsbury. 

" Voted that mr. Enoch Eastman Capt. matthew 
Stanlay Be the Commity to Buld the Boat and take 
kear of it till our next annuel meting. 

" Joshua Bayley, Town Clerk." 

The ferry where this boat plied was about a third 
of a mile below the bridge at Contoocook. The road 



SECOND SAW-MILL. 109 

from Hopkinton to Warner, coming down Putney's 
hill, bore to the right, and struck the river at this 
place. Here the first bridge was made, and the old 
abutments are yet distinctly to be seen. The road 
passed on through the Paul R. George intervale to 
Davisville, and thence onward, substantially where it 
now is. There was then no house at Contoocook vil- 
lage, no bridge there, and no road leading from there 
to Warner. 

The above action of the town of Hopkinton was 
important to the inhabitants of Warner, who in the 
early history of the town were compelled to go below 
the Contoocook river for a store, a blacksmith shop, 
or a physician. After this, they had a boat on which 
to cross and recross the river, as big as Deacon Mer- 
rill's at Concord; and they and the new comers found 
what they called " liberal accommodations" at this 
place. 

SECOND SAW-MILL. 

At a meeting of the proprietors, held in Amesbury, 
August 30, 1763,— 

" Voted that Bartholomew Heath and Francis Da- 
vis be a committee to build a saw mill on the site of 
the one that was burned ; that said committee have 4 
shillings lawful money per day for their time, and 
other hands 3 shillings and 4 pence (if they earn it), 
while they work on the mill ; that said mill be com- 



110 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

pleted by the 15th day of the next October, and that 
Dr. Nehemiah Ordway, Capt. William Rowell, and 
Deacon Stephen Sargent, be a committee to provide 
Iron-work for said mill, to warn meetings and do any 
other business to forward the settlement of the town." 

At another meeting in Amesbury, holden October 
11, 1763,— 

" Voted and made Choice of Joseph Jewell, Francis 
Davis, and Stephen Morrill, a committee to Make sale 
of any Delinquent Rights according to law to Defray 
the charges that has aris." 

At a meeting January 3d, 1764, — 

" Voted that each proprietor pay $4 towards defray- 
ing charges of building the mill." 

April 9th, 1764, the proprietors met and received 
report that the committee had " finished the mill, and 
had scmed in her, and had employed Mr. Annis and 
Mr. Jewell to tend her." 

" Voted, at said meeting, to tax each right six shill- 
ings in addition to what had already been raised, to 
defray expenses of building a dam." 



CHAPTER YIII. 

THE RYE GRANTEES — RECORDS OF AMESBURY PROPRIETORS — 

FIRST MEETING-HOUSE — 'HEDGED IN THE POTASH THE OLD 

TAVERN — FIRST GRIST-MILL. 

feOM 1749 to 1767, the township of Warner was, 
technically, in possession of the Rye grantees ; 
but there is nothing to show that those grantees ever 
organized and kept records, or that they ever made 
surveys in or around the township or any efforts to 
advertise their property. Only two or three settlers 
ever came from Rye at all, and none of these were 
grantees of the town. That the Rye people never 
perfected their title to the township is evident from 
the flxct that they did not convey it, finally, to the 
Salisbury and Amesbury proprietors. The Masonian 
proprietors, ignoring the Rye grant, did this them- 
selves. And yet the Rye proprietors gained some 
sort of a foothold in the township. A lot of one 
hundred acres was set off to Andrew McClary, of Ep- 
som, one of those proprietors. The records of Hills- 
borough county show that Daniel Annis, on the 23d 
day of August, 1762, bought of John McClary (a 



112 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

brother to Andrew), for £150, lawful money, "one 
certain lot of land lying and being in the township 
granted by the Masonian Proprietors to Richard Jen- 
ness, and others, known by the name of Jenness- 
Town ; said lot being No. 32, in the 4th range of lots; 
it being the original right of Andrew McClary." 

This land was near Tom pond, on the west side of 
it ; but subsequent surveys have obliterated the lines 
of the lot, and its exact locality cannot be determined. 
Nor can it be determined how McClary came into 
possession. He may have visited the town and 
cleared out bridle-paths, or made some surveys. Or 
this lot may have been assigned to him by the Rye 
proprietors (of which he was one), in the expectation 
that he would interest himself (he being a man of 
character and influence) in advertising the town, and 
inducing people to go in as settlers. 

Andrew McClary was the major in Col. Stark's 
regiment at the battle of Bunker hill. He was a 
gallant officer. He was tall, of fine personal appear- 
ance, and, in the words of a brother officer, ''• the hand- 
somest man in the army." He fought bravely in the 
battle of the 17th of June, and escaped its perils, but 
was killed, as he was returning from examining the 
position of the enemy on Bunker hill, by a chance 
shot from a British ship in the river. 

Meetings of the Salisbury and Amesbury proprietors 
were usually warned by notices posted in joublic 



RECORDS OF AMESBURY PROPRIETORS. 113 

places by a committee annually elected for that pur- 
pose. Below is the usual form : 

"These are to notify and warn the Proprietors of 
the Township No. One, in the line of towns, called 
New Almsbury, .in the Province of New Hampshire, 
to meet at the Widow Esther Colby's house, Innhold- 
er in Almsbury, the 28th day of March, instant 
[1765], at one oclock P. M. to act on the following 
particulars : 

First, to choose a Moderator — 
Second, to choose a Proprietors' Clerk — 
Third, to choose a committee or Selectmen — 
Fourth, to choose a committee to rectify the bounds 
of the 40 acre lots, and lay out a lot to each Pro- 
prietor, if thought proper : 

Fifth, to empower some suitable person or persons 
to employ the saw mill for the benefit of the Pro- 
prietary : 

Sixth, to choose a Collector or Collectors, or do any 
other business that shall be thought proper to be 
done when met. 

Dated at Almsbury, March 11, 1765. 

Nehemiah Ordway 1 Proprietors' 
Stephen Sargent J Committee." 

According to this warning, the proprietors met at 
the time and place designated, and chose Theodore 
Hoyt, moderator, and Nehemiah Ordway, clerk. 



114 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

At the same meeting, voted that Deacon Nathan 
Currier, Deacon Stephen Sargent, and Nehemiah Ord- 
way should be selectmen (or committee), for the year. 

At the same meeting, voted that the selectmen 
be collectors to gather the money that is already 
voted b}^ the proprietors, or shall be voted this present 
year, and also a committee to pay out the money to 
those that the proprietary are indebted to, and the 
said selectmen are also empowered to make sale of 
delinquent rights or lands, and give deeds of them in 
behalf of the proprietary. 

At the same meeting, voted that Deacon Nathan 
Currier, Increase Morrill, Barnard Hoyt, and Theodore 
Hoyt be a committee to go and rectify the former 
bounds of the 40-acre " settlers' lots," and renew the 
bounds round the town ; also lay out 80 or 100 acre 
lots to each proprietor, and employ some suitable 
person or persons to employ (run) the saw-mill for 
the benefit of the proprietors : then the meeting was 
dismissed. 

At a meeting held Oct. 10, 1765, at Amesbury, — 

Voted to raise eight shillings on each right to pay 
charges of laying out the 80 acre lots. 

At this meeting, the committee, consisting of Cur- 
rier, Morrill, and the two Hoyts, brought in their re- 
turn of the laying out of the first division of eighties 
for the proprietors. Then the drawing of the lots 



RECORDS OF AMESBURY PROPRIETORS. 115 

took place. Said committee also reported that they 
had run a line around the town, but they gave no 
points of compass, no distances, and no details what- 
ever. It was really no survey at all. 

Without a correct map of the town, with the 
ranges, divisions, lots, and numbers plainly marked 
thereon, no proper idea can be obtained concerning 
these particulars. No such map is in existence. 

There was great irregularity in the laying out of 
the township. The first surveys of the proprietors 
were in 1736, when 63 forty-acre lots were laid out. 
The same number of five-acre lots were laid out in 
1738. Sixty forty-acre lots for settlers were surveyed 
in 1763. The first division of eighties was surveyed 
in 1765 ; after that, the first division of sixties. 

In these surveys but little regard was paid to the 
lines of the town, nor were the several surveys made 
wdth any apparent reference to each other. The con- 
sequence is, the town is full of gores and irregidar 
lots, of all forms and dimensions. Another thing 
which laid at the foundation of these irregularities 
was the changes which the proprietors were allowed 
to make in their lots. When they drew, as they many 
times did, lots of little value, surveys of other lots, in 
lands not yet appropriated, were made for them. 



116 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

FIRST MEETING-HOUSE. 

At the meeting of Oct. 10, 1765, last referred to, — 

" Voted to give Mr. Ferrinton six shillings on each 
right to build a Meeting House, in the township ; 

" Voted, also, to provide preaching once a Quarter 
for the inhabitants in said Township at the Proprie- 
tors' cost." 

Under this vote, a log meeting-house was built in 
the south end of the meeting-house lot in 1766. The 
meeting-house lot headed on the Gould road, or Bart- 
lett road, or Waldron's Hill road, and stretched back 
northward, across the river. This log house stood not 
far from the south-east corner of the old cemetery, as 
it now is. To go to the exact spot where it stood, 
one should enter the gate on the Gould road, and go 
directly back at right angles with the highway some 
four or five rods, and there, on the little knoll which 
is now occupied by those who have " fallen asleep," 
the humble edifice was erected. 

At first the services in this house were like angels' 
visits, " few and far between." Preaching once a 
quarter was all that the proprietors provided for, and 
the inhabitants of the town at that time could hardly 
put in so much as the " widow's mite." They had but 
a trifling amount of this world's goods of any kind, 
and no money. 



FIRST MEETING-HOUSE. 117 

Timothy Walker, of Concord, was the first preacher, 
and Nehemiah Ordway, Jr., of Amesbury, the second, 
but neither of them was settled. Mr. Walker was a 
son of Rev. Timothy Walker, the first minister of 
Concord. He graduated at Harvard college in 1756. 
He preached, more or less, in Canterbury, Rindge, 
Warner, and probably elsewhere, but he was never 
settled over any church. During the Revolutionary 
war he went into civil life, where he attained honor 
and distinction. He was a member of the council, 
and chief-justice of the court of common pleas. 

Nehemiah Ordway, Jr., was a son of Dr. Nehemiah 
Ordway, of Amesbury, one of the proprietors of the 
town, and for many years their clerk. Nehemiah, 
Jr., was born in Amesbury in 1743. He graduated 
at Harvard in 1764, preached a while in Warner 
(at this time gene'rally called New Almsbury), was 
ordained at Mid die ton, N. H., in 1778, where he 
preached a few years. He was then in East Haver- 
hill, Mass., from 1789 to 1794, when he went to 
Raymond, N. H., where he preached till 1797. A 
daughter of his had married Dr. John Pillsbury, and 
as advancing years came on, he went to live with the 
Doctor in Candia, and last in Pembroke, where he 
died in 1836, aged 93. 



118 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

HEDGED IN. 

At a meeting of the proprietors, held in Amesbnry 
Oct. 29, 1765,— 

"Voted to pay Barns Jewell fifty dollars to build a 
2^0 s session fence round the town." 

As this is the only record of that meeting which 
appears, the inference is that nothing beyond the 
above vote was transacted then and there. But what 
is a possession fence, and what did those men mean ? 
We have been led to regard the proprietors of War- 
ner as rational, considerate people, but this action of 
theirs fails to justify such regard. 

A little calculation will show the distance around 
Warner (without the Gore) to be more than 25 miles, 
and therefore more than 8,000 rods. Fifty dollars 
would be a small price for building so much fence. 
It would be only two thirds of a cent to a rod ! No 
picket fence, or post and rail fence, or common board 
fence, or stone wall, could be built for any such 
money. The proprietors must have meant a hedge 
fence, but that, even, would cost more than two thirds 
of a cent to a rod, and more than five times that sum, 
as the workmen would be compelled to " live out," 
and find themselves ! 

Then what on earth was this fence to be for ? Was 
it to keep out the Indians, or the settlers in adjacent 
towns, or the wild beasts? Was it to serve as a 



THE POTASH. 119 

prison wall to keep the inhabitants of Warner in, and 
to prevent their going back to Amesbiiry ? 

In foreign countries they have their "walled cities," 
but old Number One stands preeminent as the first 
rural township among the hills to be hedged in. But 
not so. The proprietors only had an attack of " tem- 
porary insanity," for they hastily despatched orders to 
their faithful employe to desist, and, at a subsequent 
meeting, "Voted to allow Barns Jewell, 1 pound 4 
shillings [which is just four dollars], for his trouble and 
charges in what he did in fencing the town." 

THE POTASH. 

At the annual meeting of the proprietors, March, 
1766, at Amesbury, — 

" Voted that Richard Harbard, Stephen Emery, and 
James Walker, of Concord, shall have half a right 
throughout the town (they paying equal proportion 
of the charges with the proprietors), and eighty acres 
of land nigh Mr. Flanders, provided they set up and 
carry on the potash in said town. 

" Voted, also, to lay out the first Division of 60 acre 
Lots." 

Dea. Nathan Currier, Simeon Bartlett, and Daniel 
Quimby were chosen to lay out said lots, and also to 
survey and lay out eighty acres for the potash lot. 
This committee employed Abial Chandler, of Concord, 



120 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

to survey the sixties, and to survey and measure off 
300 acres of intervale land, giving;: to each rio;ht five 
acres. 

The potash lot was " nigh Mr. Flanders," meaning 
Daniel Flanders, who has already been mentioned, 
and who lived at the Lower village, where the Henry 
B. Chase house stands, or a little further down. The 
eighty-acre lot granted for the potash was at the 
Brooks place. These Concord parties, to whom the 
grant was made, turned over their chance to one 
Jacob Hoyt of the same town. Hoyt came on and 
built a small hotel on the spot where the old Carter 
tavern afterwards stood. He entertained travellers, 
and kept an " open bar," according to the custom of 
the times, for everybody. Across the street, near 
down to the little brook, but on the west side of it, is 
a very small plat of ground where the old potash 
stood. The sills were much lower than the road, and 
the ashes were carried in over the beams, on an 
inclined bridge. Every ten bushels of ashes, accord- 
ing to the law as laid down by Hoyt, entitled a man 
to a gill of West India rum as a gratuity. The early 
settlers of Warner, it is to be presumed, were not 
" sinners above all the Gallileans." They were about 
an average class, and they had their appetites and 
weaknesses, in common with the race. They liked 
their " toddy," and the manufacturer of ashes always 
expected this gratuity of a gill of rum for each and 



THE OLD TAVERN. 121 

every ten bushels, besides the going price of his com- 
modity. In those days families burnt vast amounts 
of fuel, their fireplaces being large and open, and 
their houses unfinished and cold. They cared not 
how much they burnt. Firewood was abundant and 
cheap, and while there was not " millions in it," there 
was ashes in itj and there was rum in the ashes ! 

•THE OLD TAVERN. 

The history of the first inn, tavern, hotel, or 
whatever it may be called, of Warner, if it could be 
faithfully written, would be as thrilling as Dickens's 
celebrated story of the Bleak House. But it cannot 
be written. This hotel stood at the Lower village, — 
a village that at one time was the business centre of 
the town. The lawyer, the doctor, the post-office, the 
stores, the potash, and the tavern were all there. 

The first building on the old site of the " Carter 
stand" was erected in 1766, by Jacob Hoyt. It was 
made of logs. It was his dwelling-house, and, on a 
small scale, a public house. In the course of eight or 
ten years this gave way to a small one-story frame 
house, which had all the appointments of an approved 
country tavern. This latter hotel building was dis- 
placed, some time about the beginning of the present 
century, by the large, low, two-story house, with nar- 
row halls and 7 by 9 glass, which was last occupied 
by Samuel Brooks. 



122 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

After Jacob Hoyt, Dr. John Currier came as tav- 
erner, and, after him, Richard Pattee, a cousin to 
John. Mr. Pattee was an ensign in the War of 1812. 
He also served as deputy sheriff from 1813 to 1816. 
After Mr. Pattee, WiUiam Carter became the landlord 
of this house, though he may not have immediately 
succeeded the above named. He was born in Wil- 
mington, Mass., 1787. He carried on the baking 
business in Concord a number of years, but removed 
to Warner in 1828, and kept the hotel seven years. 
After leaving Warner, in 1836, Mr. Carter kept the 
old Raymond House at Bradford Corner, then carried 
on the baking business at Amherst, and finally died at 
Lebanon, at the residence of his son, Henry W. Car- 
ter, in 1875. 

The last occupants of this old tavern house were 
Samuel Brooks and his family, who took possession in 
1835, and remained in occupancy till 1857, a period 
of twenty-two years. 

Mr. Brooks was a native of Charlestown, Mass., 
where he spent the larger portion of his life. He 
learned the hatter's trade when a boy, but, having no 
mechanical inclinations or skill, he never followed it a 
day. He purchased this ancient hotel, with the farm 
attached, in 1835, and (taking down the old familiar 
sign) made it simply a residence for his family. He 
was an inveterate reader, and a man of marked char- 
acteristics. His doors were always open to his friends. 



THE OLD TAVERN. 123 

After the marriage of his only daughter to Hon. John 
Abbot, he went to Concord to pass the evening of his 
life. He soon thereafter sold out his property in 
Warner, and the famous house, which for generations 
had sheltered the weary traveller from the storm, and 
which had finally been the peaceful family abode, 
went the way of all the earth. 

George Runels. Warner Lower Village has given 
birth to many prominent men and women, and among 
the number is the subject of this sketch. His ances- 
tor, who was of Scotch origin, came from Halifax to 
Bradford, Mass., in 1674. His grandfather (who was 
a blacksmith) was born at Haverhill, Mass., in 1726. 
His father (Major Daniel Runels) was born at Haver- 
hill, in 1775. Major Runels learned his trade, and, 
on becoming of age, went to Corinth, Vt., and there 
worked at blacksmithing a short time. In 1797 he 
came to Warner, and in 1799 married Chloe, a daugh- 
ter of John George. Their children were Daniel G., 
Hannah, Sally, Charles, and George, all of whom are 
dead except the last named. 

George Runels was born February 3, 1823. His 
mother died in 1829, and he remained with his flither 
till he died, in 1837. He then worked with his broth- 
er (Daniel G.) one year at blacksmithing and fjirm- 
ing ; then for six months he worked half the time for 
Levi Bartlett, and the other half for Noyes Rand. 
9 



124 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

He was next with bis guardian and uncle (Maj. Dan- 
iel George) a short time. He received his schooling 
at the brick house by the river, and at New London 
academy, where he was a student one quarter. He 
went to Lowell in the spring of 1840, and learned 
the trade of a stone-cutter. In the fall of that year 
he travelled with Henry Carter, visited all the New 
Hampshire musters, engaged in selling books and 
other notions. Li November of the same year he 
went on board of a barque, and sailed to the Pacific 
on a whaling expedition. In about twenty months 
after sailing the barque was wrecked on the Fejee 
Islands. The crew were picked up (after being in 
boats three days) by a ship, which left them in New 
Zealand. Mr. Runels worked there three months, pit- 
sawing in the woods and building a wharf — the first 
wharf on that island. He sailed from there to New 
Holland, and back, in a Scotch brig. He then went 
on board a vessel from Salem, Mass., which was trad- 
ing with the natives of the Fejee Islands: he re- 
mained with this vessel about one year, and left her 
at Manila, on one of the Philippine Islands. From 
there he went in an English ship to Canton, Singa- 
poor, and Calcutta, leaving her at the latter place. 
He was sick with Asiatic cholera six weeks in Cal- 
cutta. Having recovered his health, he shipped on 
board of a Boston vessel, and came home around the 
Cape of Good Hope. He went again to Lowell, and 



" FIRST GRIST-MILL. 125 

started the business of stone-cutting there in 1845, in 
which pursuit he remained till 1849. In the fall of 
that year he went to California, and returned in 1850. 
He then went to farming in Waterbury, Vt., where 
he remained till 1854. Since that time he has been 
extensively engaged in business at Lowell till within 
about one year, when, having acquired a competence, 
he retired from active work. For the past twelve 
months he has travelled in Florida, Colorado, Califor- 
nia, and the West generally. 

Mr. Runels married, in 1845, Miss Mary A. Morrill, 
of Springfield, N. H. Three children have been born 
to this couple, viz., Emma, who died in 1871, aged 23, 
and Charles and Henry, who are engaged in the stone 
business at Lowell. 

FIRST GRIST-MILL. 

At a meeting held Nov. 10, 1766, — 

" Voted to raise 16 shillings on each right, to pay 
the charges of laying out the 60 acre Lots, and for 
building the Meeting House, and that said tax be 
paid before the lots are drawn." 

" At the same meeting, voted that Daniel Quimby 
and Ezekiel Dimond be a committee to make sale of 
the Mill and Privilege for the most it will bring and 
oblige the buyer to build a Grist Mill." 

Also, chose Ezekiel Dimond and Joseph Eastman 



126 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

to dear roads in town, and raised $30 to pay for the 
same. 

Over four years had now elapsed since the first set- 
tlements had been made in town, but the indispensa- 
ble grist-mill had not yet put in an appearance. The 
privation was sorely felt. The inhabitants were un- 
der the necessity of going to Hopkinton or Boscawen 
with their grists, and rel3dng on such ordinary mills 
as had been already erected in those places. At 
times, however, from one cause and another, those 
mills failed to perform their functions, and the War- 
ner people were compelled to go to Concord to get 
their grinding done. In such cases, they j)atronized 
the mill on Turkey river, where St. Paul's School 
is now located. Capt. Daniel Flood used to carry 
two bushels of corn on his shoulders to that mill, and 
bring the meal back in the same way. Others, also, 
carried grists on their backs to the same mill, the 
distance of which from Warner town hall is sixteen 
miles. There were then but few horses in town, the 
roads Avere very poor, and it was a difficult and 
tedious job to convey horses over the Contoocook on 
log rafts. Even after the "fary boate" commenced 
running, the toll for a team was an item to be consid- 
ered in that day of money scarcity. Hence the early 
settlers bent their shoulders to the task in the man- 
ner stated. 

Much depends upon custom. The men of Warner 



FIRST GRIST-MILL. 127 

of a century ago did not look upon these hardships 
as they would be looked upon by the men of to-day. 
They were accustomed to carrying heavy burdens on 
their shoulders through the forest paths. Philip 
Flanders brought two bushels of potatoes on his back 
from Concord, being accompanied by Isaac Walker, 
who brought a bushel and a half in the same way. 
Jacob Collins, the father of Levi, carried the boards 
for his rye bins on his shoulders from Bean's mill, at 
Waterloo, through the woods and up the hills to his 
home in district No. 10, because no team could get 
through. 

The mill on Turkey river, which the Warner peo- 
ple occasionally patronized, performed faithful service 
145 years (from 1733 to 1878), when it was convert- 
ed into a laundry for the accommodation of St. Paul's 
School. This mill was established shortly after the 
settlement of Concord. At a meeting of the proprie- 
tors of that town, October 13, 1732, — 

" Voted, that any Person that is agreeable and shall 
be accepted of by the Proprietors of Penny Cook 
that will build a Grist Mill on Turkey River in Penny 
Cook for the use of the Proprietors shall have one 
hundred acres of Land convenient to the mill and the 
Benefit of the whole Stream of said Turkey River." 

It seems that one Barachias Farnum was deemed 
"agreeable," for he accepted the gift, went forward in 
pursuance of the vote, and built the mill in 1733. 



128 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

At the annual meeting, in March, 1767, Capt. Wm. 
Rowell was chosen moderator, and Nehemiah Ord- 
way, clerk. Simeon Bartlett, Nathan Currier, Nehe- 
miah Ordway, Ezekiel Evans, and Barnard Hoyt were 
chosen committee for the year. 

" Voted that said committee be instructed and em- 
powered to make sale of Delinquent Proprietors' 
Lands ; also to provide Preaching according to a 
former vote." 

Also, voted to raise one dollar on each right, to de- 
fray the charges of the present year. 

Also, " voted to give Increase Morrill a 40 acre Lot 
near where Palmer huilt a frame, he complying with 
the terms and settling as other settlers." 

" Hereby hangs a tale," as subsequent pages will 
show. 




OHAPTEE IX. 

THE MASONIAN PROPRIETORS — A NEW GRANT — ORGANIZING 

UNDER IT. 

OT only were the Rye claimants unacknowledged 
by the Amesbury people and the settlers in War- 
ner, but they were also unrecognized by. the Masonian 
proprietors themselves. The grant which was made 
to them in 1749 had become "null and void." The 
grantees had not complied with the conditions of the 
grant, and had therefore forfeited their claim to the 
township. Hence the Salisbury and Amesbury pro- 
prietors could make their appeal only to the twelve, 
whose names have been heretofore given. And yet 
the Rye grantees (or persons who settled under their 
authority) had acquired certain rights which could 
not be justly ignored. It seemed to be an acknowl- 
edged principle, that when persons, acting in good 
faith, became settlers upon the unoccupied lands 
(even if those who gave them permission so to do 
had no authority over the matter), they should be 
protected and made secure in possession. This was 
very favorable to the settler, and was just and right. 
The Rye people left no record, and we can never 



130 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

know exactly what steps were taken, or what labors 
were done by them. The grant of the township to 
them, as alreacjy stated, fell ; but they had gained, by 
settlement or otherwise, a strong foothold in town, 
and the records hereafter will show that it required 
considerable money to remove the incumbrance. 

On the 27th day of July, 1767, the Amesbury pro- 
prietors met at the house of Widow Esther Colby, in 
Amesbury. After choosing Thomas Rowell modera- 
tor, — 

" Voted that Capt. Jonathan Barnard, Increase Mor- 
rill, and Ezekiel Evans, be a committee to go and treat 
with the Proprietors of Mason's Patten, so called, and 
agree with them, if they can upon reasonable terms, 
and take sufficient security of them of said Township, 
and give security for such a sum as shall be agreed 
upon, and make return of their proceedings at the 
adjournment of this meeting." 

Met, according to adjournment, the 10th day of 
August, of the same year, when Mr. Barnard, from the 
committee, reported that "Ae and they had not settled 
the affair." 

At the same meetinsj; the said Barnard and Evans, 
of the committee, were instructed " to go immediately 
to the Mason Proprietors, and obtain from them the 
best terms on which they would relinquish their 
claim." 



THE MASONIAN PROPRIETORS, 131 

These men went promptly to Portsmouth on their 
mission. Something had got to be done, and the fol- 
lowing record will show what ivas done. 

The other party now appears. 

" Province of ") 
New Hampshire ) Portsmouth, September 30, 1767. 

'• The Proprietors met according to adjournment : — 
" Voted that Col. Theodore Atkinson be, and hereby is author- 
ized to write to Capt. Jonathan Barnard, Increase Morrill and 
Ezekiel Evans, in answer to their application to the Proprietors 
for the Township called Number One in ye line of Towns, and re- 
ceive their Reply, and make agreement for the same in behalf of 
the Proprietors, and make report of his Proceedings as Soon as 
may be." 

Negotiations were now successfully begun. Corre- 
spondence ensued ; kind feelings prevailed ; — the Ma- 
sonian proprietors fixed the price for which they 
would dispose of the township (which had been so 
long a subject of dispute), or of their interest in it, 
and the Amesbury proprietors accepted the offer and 
closed the trade. 

At a meeting of the latter, in Amesbury, November 
4, 1767,— 

" Voted to pay the sum claimed by the Masonian Proprietors, 
namely, six hundred dollars, or ten dollars on each right, except 
the public rights, and chose Jonathan Barnard, Increase Morrill 
and Ezekiel Evans, a committee to take a Grant of the said Ma- 
sonian Proprietors of the said township of New Amesbury, in the 
Province of New Hampshire, on the terms that had been agreed 
upon by the former committee, and give them security for the 
payment of the six hundred dollars." 



132 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

At the same meetino;, — 



'o? 



"Voted that jf any proprietor has an 80 acre Lot judged not 
fit for settlement, he may apply to Abial Chandler, survej'or, and 
another man, and have another Lot laid out at the cost of the 
Proprietary." 

GRANT BY THE MASONIAN PROPRIETORS. 

"Province of ") 
New Hampshire j At a meeting of the Proprietors of the lands 
purchased of John Tufton Mason Esq., in New Hampshire, held 
at Portsmouth, in said Province, by adjournment, on the 24th 
day of December, 1767 — 

" Whereas, Capt. Jonathan Barnard, Increase Morrill and Eze- 
kiel Evans have applied to said Proprietors, in behalf of them- 
selves and others whose names are hereinafter mentioned, for the 
right of said Proprietors to a tract of land hereinafter described, 
which they were disposed to settle with all convenient dispatch, 
and the said Proprietors being desirous of encouraging the settle- 
ment of all the Lands within their claim and of accomodating 
such persons who were inclined to make such settlements, and 
for the greater advantage of the settlers, instead of reserving a 
part to the Grantors, as has been usually done by them in such 
cases, have agreed to take a sum of money as an acknowledge- 
ment of their right : and hereupon it is voted, That there be, 
and hereby is Granted all the right, title, interest, property and 
demand of said Proprietors in and to the said Tract of Land, 
containing the quantity of six miles square, within the following 

Bounds, viz Begining at a place, called and known by the 

Name of Contoocook, thence running North 15 degrees west, six 
miles, then running from each end of this line, west 5 degrees 
south, six miles ; thence crossing and running over on a straight 
line from the west end of one of these last mentioned lines to the 
other, so as to make the quantity of six miles square and no 
more. In consideration of the sum of One Hundred and Eighty 
Pounds, to the said Proprietors in hand paid, or secured to be 
paid by the Grantees, whose names are as follows : — 



A NEW GRANT. 



133 



Jonatlian Barnard 
Increase Morrill 
Ezekiel Evans 
Richard Cnrrier 
Dr. Nehemiah Ordway 
Humphrey Pierce 
E-euben Dimond 
Joseph Jewell 
Samuel Barnard Jr. 
Stephen Colby 
Barnard Hoyt 
Benjamin Evans 
Joseph Eastman 
Simeon Morrill 
Elihu Gould 
John Nichols 
Rev. Pain Wingate 
Thomas Rowell 
Thomas Barnard 
David Ring 
Benjamin Tucker 
Simeon Bartlett 
Enoch Sargent 
Bartholomew Heath 
Jonathan Pressey 
Stephen Merrill 
Nathan Currier 
Widow Esther Colby 
John Wells 



Daniel Quimby 
Thomas Fowler 
Barns Jewell 
Nathan Goodwin 
Francis Davis 
Peter Sargent 
Aaron Rowell 
Thomas Jewell 
Abraham Morrill 
Dr. George Abbott 
Jeremiah Flanders 
Samuel Barnard 
Theodore Hoyt 
Nehemiah Ordway Jr. 
Gideon Rowell 
Samuel Straw 
Israel Straw 
James Ordway 
Ezekiel Morrill 
Jarvis Ring 
Joseph Jones 
Dr. Stephen Sargent 
William Straw 
Benjamin Sargent 
David Bagley 
Benjamin Osgood 
Eastman Hoyt 
Jonathan Martin 
Eliphalet Lowell 



and Daniel Morrill, — on the terms and limitations here- 
inafter expressed To have and to hold to them the said 

Grantees in several and separate shares to them and to their sev- 
eral and respective heirs and assigns forever, on the terms and 
conditions following, viz : 

That the said Grantees settle forty families, each having a 
house of 18 by 16 feet, or equivalent thereto, and three acres of 
land fit for tillage mowing or pasturing within three years to each 
family : That they lay out three rights or shares, one for the use 



13-4 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

of the minister of the Gospel who shall be ordained and settled 
there, that one right be for the use of the ministry in town when 
incorporated, forever, and one other right for the use of a school 
for and towards the support thereof forever, each of said rights 
to be laid out in Lots as the Grantees manage the other rights 
and to be free from the charge of Settlement or any public taxes 
to that end : That each Grantee do faithfully and duly pay his 
proportion of all taxes that shall be agreed on by the majority at 
any legal meeting for carrying on the settlement : That they 
build a Meeting House and maintain constant preaching there, 
from and after the term of three years from the date hereof : 
That all White Pine Trees, growing on said tract of land be re- 
served for His Majesty's Use. 

That each Grantee who shall neglect to pay his proportion of 
the Taxes that shall be agreed on as aforesaid shall forfeit so 
much of his share as will raise the money at which he is assessed 
whether laid out into Lots or lying in common, and the other 
Grantees shall hereby have power to direct how and in what man- 
ner the same shall be disposed of for this purpose, and he who 
shall not perform the duty required of him as his proportion and 
part of making the said settlement shall forfeit his whole right or 
share to those of said Grantees who shall have duly performed 
the same. 

"But in case the majority of the Grantees shall neglect to 
make the settlement and perform the several matters and things 
necessary thereunto according to the time above limited, they 
shall forfeit the whole tract to the said Grantors, and it shall and 
may be lawful for them to enter in and to the same to re-possess 
their proper estate ; and there is also reserved in said tract of 
Land, land sufficient for convenient highways through the said 
tract as is usually granted in other towns by said Proprietors. 
" Attest : George Jaffrey, P. Clerk." 

Thus the SaUsbury and Amesbury proprietors have 
at last an unquestioned title to the township, exclu- 
sive of certain rights acquired by individuals under 
the Rye grant. But time has wrought great changes 



A NEW GRANT. 135 

since this grant was made by Massachusetts in 1735. 
Thirty-two years have elapsed — ahnost a third of a 
century — and many of the original proprietors have 
been "gathered to their ffithers." Others have become 
discouraged by the continuous, up-hill struggle to ac- 
quire possession of the town, and have fallen out. 
Perhaps most of these sold their rights for some small 
consideration. Of the sixty original proprietors, only 
twenty-five remain. The other thirty-five appear no 
more. 

The sum of one hundred and eighty pounds, stated 
as the consideration of this grant, is identical with the 
stipulated price of ^600, — a pound being, at that 
time, three dollars and a third. 

By the terms of the grant, these proprietors were 
to " build a Meeting House, and maintain constant 
preaching from, and after three years," from which it 
appears that the grantees did not deem the humble 
log house already in existence as a fit temple in 
which to worship the Most High. This is not strange: 
but perhaps if they had prayerfully studied the les- 
son concerning " the woman of Samaria," they would 
have been less fastidious. 

The white pine trees were reserved for the use of 
his majesty the king, but the war of the Revolution 
and the independence of the colonies cancelled that 
obligation. 

This additional burden of $600 was a grievous one 



136 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

to the long-suffering and over-taxed proprietors of 
township No. One. They had to submit to it, how- 
ever, or surrender their entire claim to the town. 
But this was not the last, nor the worst, as the subse- 
quent records will show. Under the Rye grant, cer- 
tain acknowledged rights had been acquired. To 
clear away the incumbrances, still further taxation 
had to be imposed. 

Daniel Barnard. Capt. Jonathan Barnard, " Inn- 
holder of Amesbury," was a man of some note in 
his day. He commanded a company of his majesty's 
militia, under the provincial government of Massachu- 
setts. He was one of the original proprietors of 
Warner under the grant of 1735, and he stood at the 
head of the list of proprietors under the Masonian 
grant of 1767. That he was a man of character 
and ability is evident from the fact that he was often 
intrusted, as these pages show, with important mis- 
sions concerning the affairs of the township. He was 
the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch. 
His son, Charles Barnard, a soldier of the Revolution, 
settled in Warner, on the north-east slope of Burnt 
hill. Charles had at least two sons, Thomas and 
Ezekiel, who are yet remembered by many of the 
people of Warner. One of the sons of Thomas is 
Hon. Daniel Barnard, of Franklin, whose nativity 
each one will settle in his own way. He was born 
in Orange, the 23d day of January, 1827; but if his 



A NEW GRANT. 137 

parents had remained at the home of their early wed- 
ded life a very feio months longer than they did, his 
birthplace would have been Warner. It is thought 
that he is fairly entitled to recognition in the history 
of the town. 

Daniel Barnard, after attending the district school 
at Orange, became a student at Canaan union acad- 
emy, where he nearly fitted for college. Subsequent 
to this he was a pupil of the late William Russell, 
who established a Normal Institute at Reed's Ferry, 
and who also received private scholars. From the 
age of 18 to 25 he taught schools a part of the year 
in the towns of Groton, Lyme, Grafton, Enfield, 
Orange, and Amherst. In January, 1848, he was 
twenty-one years of age, and in the March following 
(when his first vote was cast) he was elected as repre- 
sentative to the General Court. He continued to 
represent the town for four years in succession. Dur- 
ing this membership in the legislature, he concluded 
to pursue the study of the law, and at the close of the 
session of 1851 he entered the office of Hon. Geo. W. 
Nesmith and Hon. A. F. Pike, at Franklin, where he has 
since resided. He was admitted to the bar in Octo- 
ber, 1854, and he at once formed a partnership with 
Mr. Pike, which continued till the spring of 1863. He 
was elected as representative from the town of Frank- 
lin in 1860 and in 1862, and to the Senate, from the 
eleventh district, in 1865 and 1866, and was president 



138 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

of that body the latter year. He was elected coun- 
cillor from the third district in 1870, and again in 
1871. He was a member of the Philadelphia Con- 
vention in 1872, which nominated Gen. Grant for his 
second term. He was appointed county solicitor in 
1867, but declined a reappointment in 1872. The 
appointment was again tendered him in 1877, but de- 
clined. He has been a trustee of the Franklin Sav- 
ings Bank since its organization in 1865, and clerk 
and legal counsel of the Franklin Falls Company since 
its organization in 1864, and for seven years past its 
agent. He is a widely known and successful lawyer. 
Mr. Barnard married, Nov. 8, 1854, Amelia Morse, 
only daughter of Rev. Wm. Morse, then of Chelms- 
ford, Mass. Seven children have been born to this 
couple, six of whom are now living. 

ORGANIZING UNDER THE GRANT. 

An application was now made to a justice of the 
peace for a warrant to call a legal meeting, and a copy 
of the justice's warrant here follows: 

Province of ) 
New Hampshire, j Whereas, application has been made to 

nie, one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the Province, 
hy the owners of more than one sixteenth part of a Township, 
No. One — called New Amesbury in the said Province, which has 
been granted of late to Capt. Jonathan Barnard and others by 
the Proprietors of Mason's Right, that a meeting of the proprie- 
tors may be called : — 

This is therefore to notify all the Proprietors to meet together 



ORGANIZING UNDER THE GRANT. 139 

at the house of Mrs. Esther Colby, Inholder in Amesbury in the 
Province of Massachusetts Bay, the 17th day of February, at 
one o'clock P. M. to act on the following particulars, viz : — 

First, to choose a moderator : — 

2d, to choose a proprietors' clerk : — 

3d, to vote a confirmation of what the proprietors have hereto- 
fore agreed upon : — 

4th, to choose a committee to call meetings and empower them 
to settle accounts and collect in delinquents' money and pay out 
where due. 

Philip White, Justice of the Peace. 

So. Hampton 

Feb. 2, 1768. 

Agreeably to this warning the proprietors met, and 
made choice of Thomas Rowell for moderator, and 
Nehemiah Ordway for clerk. 

At the same meeting, voted that Francis Davis have 
the saw-mill, iron-work, and mill privilege, the same as 
had been laid out by the committee. 

Voted, also, to confirm many votes previously passed. 
Chose Increase Morrill, Francis Davis, and Ezekiel 
Evans a committee to visit the settlers, and see if 
they have fulfilled their contract, and if not, to forbid 
them to proceed any further ; and if any have taken 
more land than was granted them, to warn them off. 

It is evident from one of the foregoing votes, that 

Francis Davis had completed a grist-mill at this time, 

for a committee had been previously appointed to 

make sale of the saw-mill and privilege for the most 

they would bring, and oblige the buyer to build a 

grist-mill. So, from about this time forth, the rum- 
10 



140 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

bling of the millstones has been a familiar sound 

within our borders. 

At the annual meeting, March 22, 1768, — 

Voted to raise 3 pounds and 12 shillings ($12) on 

each right, to pay the Masonian proprietors and to 

meet the charges of the present year. 

During the years 1768 and 1769 many bills were 
paid by the proprietors for services of committees, for 
the relief of settlers, for preaching, for the township 
of land, and for various other purposes. A few of 
these bills are here transcribed : 

£ s. d. q. 

Widow Esther Colby, expense of several meetings, 1-11-0-0 

Mr. Ferrenton Preaching and expense of meetings, 6- 2-4-0 

Ezekiel Evans Collecting taxes, 1768— 6- 0-0-0 
Ezekiel Evans for going to Portsmouth to get the 

Charter of Mason Proprietors — 3-17-7-1 
Dr. Nehemiah Ordway for services rendered to 

Jacob Rowell for crcmips 4-10-8-0 

Timothy Walker for jjreaching — 4-16-0-0 

David Morrill for Iron work 1- 0-0-0 

Ordered to pay to George Jaffrey 180- 0-0-0 

Nehemiah Ordway, Jr. for preaching, 5-12-0-0 

Capt. Jonathan Barnard, services 2-14-0-0 

Erancis Davis work on higliwa}'- 2- 0-9-0 

Ezikiel Evans for clearing way to Perry town 2- 8-0-0 

Daniel Annis plank for dam 0-15-0-0 

Simeon Bartlett services as assessor 0- 9-0-0 

Barnard Hoyt for services in New Almsbury 5- 3-6-0 

Voted to give to Seth Goodwin $15, under his distressed cir- 
cumstances. 



OHAPTEE X. 

DELINQUENT RIGHTS — SECOND MEETING-HOUSE — ANOTHER TOWN 
— TRESPASSERS — RUNNING THE LINES. 

FTER the lars-e assessment was made in 1768 
to pay the Mason proprietors, and after it was 
seen that another heavy assessment must be levied to 
dispossess the Rye people of their claims in the town- 
ship, many of the Amesbury proprietors allowed their 
rights to be sold for taxes. Indeed, before 1768, a 
number had become weary of taxation and of strife, 
and had allowed their rights to go, under the hammer. 

From the year 1764 to the year 1769, twenty-three 
out of the sixty original rights or shares were sold to 
pay taxes on the same. The sales averaged only 
about $15 to a share. No further proof is necessary, 
to show that as a speculation the investment in the 
township was a failure. Each proprietor had paid at 
least twice $15 on his right. 

In 1768 and the next year the proprietors frequent- 
ly met for the transaction of business. It was an un- 
usually busy period with them. Settlers on the gift- 
lots were confirmed in their titles ; committees were 



142 HISTOEY OP WAKNER. 

chosen for re-surveying those lots, for laying out high- 
ways, for examining bounds and rectifying mistakes, 
for laying out another division of eighties, and another 
of sixties. The details of these transactions might not 
be interesting to the reader : they are therefore omit- 
ted. 

In the year 1768 another tax of $2 was ordered on 
each right. 

In the year 1769 the province of New Hampshire 
was divided into counties, five in number, viz., Rock- 
ingham, Strafford, Hillsborough, Cheshire, and Graf- 
ton. The public business had all been done at Ports- 
mouth previous to this, and it was done there some 
little time afterwards, as the machinery of the coun- 
ties did not at once get to running. 

SECOND MEETING-HOUSE. 

In the warrant for a meeting of the proprietors 
in the house of James French, innholder, in South 
Hampton, June 28th, 1769, the fourth article to be 
acted upon was in these words : 

" To see if the Proprietors will do anything towards 
building another Meeting House in the township." 
On this article the following action was taken : 
" Voted to build a meeting house in the township." 
At the annual meeting, in March, 1770, — 
"Voted to raise ^60 to build the meetinghouse, 
and that Ezekiel Evans and Ezekiel Dimond be a 



SECOND MEETING-HOUSE. 143 



committee to see that the $60 be laid out for said 
purpose." 

The first house had but a brief day. It was de- 
stroyed by fire, no one knows how. It could not have 
been an act of incendiarism committed by the Indians, 
for they had retired forever from Warner before this 
time. It could hardly have occurred accidentally, be- 
cause the house was seldom occupied, and there was 
in it no fireplace or other provision for heating. The 
poor old edifice may have been the victim of a dispute 
or controversy, as many a one, both before and since, 
has been. But no insurance company was "broke" 
by this fire, and no great loss was suffered, for the 
building was poorly constructed of unhewed logs. It 
had in it not a single pane of glass, nothing but the 
merest apology for a pulpit, and not a pew of any 
kind. 

The second house was erected in the old cemetery, 
on the exact site of the first. It was a frame building, 
24 feet by 30, one story high, without a steeple, 
boarded on the sides, and covered on the top with 
long split shingles. It faced the Gould road, the door 
being at the middle of the front side, and the pulpit 
at the back side. It was rather uncomely in appear- 
ance, but far less so than its predecessor. After the 
timber was partly prepared for this second meeting- 
house, and the nails were on the ground, a " bee " was 
made, to which all the people were invited, and the 



144 HISTORY OF "WARNER. 

house was raised and substantially completed in a day. 
This was in the summer of 1770. 

The seats, at first, were rough benches, but in Sep- 
tember, 1772, the "pew-gromid" was sold, and the 
proceeds of the sale went for the further finishing of 
the house. At the same time the assemblage 

" Voted that there should be six pews at ye fore 
side of 3'e meeting house, and four at ye back side, 
and two long pews — one at each end of said house." 

At the same meeting the unmade pews were sold 
at public vendue, to raise money for the making of 
the same. Captain Daniel Flood, who had a gift for 
that position, acted as auctioneer. 

Pew No. 1 was struck off to Francis Davis at 19 shillings ; 

No. 2 to Abner Chase, at 20 shillings ; 

No. 3 to Dea. Neheraiah Heath, at 17 shillings ; 

No. 4 (it being the long pew at the east end of the house) to 
Zebulon Davis, at 14 shillings ; 

No. 5 to Joseph Currier, at 18 shillings ; 

No. 6 to Seth Goodwin, at 23 shillings ; 

No. 8 to Isaac Waldron, Jr., at 21 shillings, 6 pence ; 

No. 9 (the long pew at the west end of the house) to Thomas 
Annis, at 14 shillings ; 

No. 10 to Daniel Flanders, at 15 shillings; 

No. 11 to Richard Goodwin, at 21 shillings, 6 pence; 

No. 12 to Dea. Parmenas Watson, at 22 shillings. 

Of course these pews were not to be finished in the 
highest style of workmanship, nor to be made of ma- 
hogany or black walnut. The lowest priced one sold 
for $2.33^, and the highest for $3.83i 

A part of the house was provided with benches for 



ANOTHER TOWN. 145 

those who did not feel able to own pews. It was 
felt that provision must be made for all, as the people 
of that day did not forsake the assembling of them- 
selves together on the Sabbath, as the manner of so 
many now is. 

AXOTHER TOWN. 

The reader is now invited back to the proprietors' 
meeting at South Hampton, June 28, 1769. At that 
meeting, — 

" Voted that Capt. Jonathan Barnard and Nehe- 
miah Ordway, be a committee to send to the General 
Court, by some of the Representatives to see if they 
can get the petition granted that was sent in last 
year for another Township." 

This application was, of course, to the General 
Court of Massachusetts, and not to that of New 
Hampshire, for the latter province was under no obli- 
gations to those proprietors. She had had no deal- 
ings with them. The proprietors held that Massachu- 
setts was indebted to them ; that they received their 
first grant from that Province, which failed ; that they 
had been compelled to purchase the same township 
from the lawful owners ; and that another party still 
was assuming a threatening attitude towards them. 
This was equity, if not good law. By the false 
step of Massachusetts the proprietors had been led 



146 HISTORY OF ■WARNER. 

into difficulty, and it was the duty of that province 
to lead them out, or in some way to make thera 
whole. 

Their application was favorably considered. The 
General Court of Massachusetts, by way of remuner- 
ation for their losses and labors, granted to the Salis- 
bury and Amesbury proprietors one half of the 
townships of Solon and Poland, in Maine. Maine, at 
this time, was a part of Massachusetts. Solon is on 
the Kennebec river, in Somerset county, and a few 
miles north of Skowhegan. Poland is in Androscog- 
gin county, near Auburn and Lewiston. They are 
both very respectable towns at the present time, but 
it is not known how valuable these grants became to 
the ^proprietors of Warner. 

TRESPASSERS. 

At the aforesaid South Hampton meeting, Simeon 
Bartlett, David Bagley, and Jonathan Barnard were 
chosen as a committee to prosecute trespassers. 

At a meeting of the proprietors, in March, 1770, — 

" Voted that the settlers who have taken up 40 acre 

Lots, shall give security for them in one month's time 

from the above date, or be excluded from having one." 

RUNNING THE LINES. 

" Voted, at same meeting, that Henry Morrill and 
Barnard Hoyt be a committee to applj^ to the Pro- 



RUNNING THE LINES. 147 

prietors of Mason's Patten, to settle the Lines round 
the town purchased of them, and that said committee 
apply to the Lords' Proprietors for the above purpose, 
by the first day of May." 

At an adjourned meeting, April 18th, the committee 
reported that " they had acquainted the Clerk of the 
Mason Proprietors, and that they would appoint a 
Surveyor at their next meeting to perform the busi- 
ness required." 

"Voted that Ezekiel Dimond and Ezekiel Evans go 
with the surveyor to run the lines round the town." 

In the records of a meeting; of the Masonian or 
Lords' proprietors, held at Portsmouth, June 13, 1770, 
the following appears : 

"Whereas there has been application to this Pro- 
prietary, requesting that the Bounds of the tract of 
Land sold to Jonathan Barnard and others, may be 
run and marked by a skilfuU Serveyor, by order and 
Direction of the proprietors, ye Venders — and the 
charge of the Same to be defrayed by the Vendees 
or those who hold under them. Therefore Voted that 
Daniel Rogers Esq. and Mr. Peter Pearce be a Com- 
mittee to have the same performed at the Expense of 
aforesaid Vendees." 

In due time these steps resulted in the thorough 
and systematic survey of the township which has 
been noticed in a preceding chapter, and which is 



1-18 HISTORY OF WAENER. 

referred to again in the following pages. It was the 
first proper survey of the township ever made. 

In the warrant for a meeting to be held in Ames- 
bury, April 21, 1770, the following articles appear : 

" To see if the proprietors will choose a man or 
men to carry on the Law-suit commenced by Increase 
Morrill against Jonathan Parmer of Chester for Tres- 
pass." 

" Also, to do what is thought proper towards clear- 
ing a way from Boscawen to Perrystown." 

At the meeting held under this warrant, — 

" Chose Jonathan Barnard and Ezekiel Evans a 
committee to take advice of the Lords' Proprietors in 
relation to the Law-suit against said Parmer, and 
chose the said Evans to clear the way from Boscawen 
to Perrystown." 

In the years 1770 and 1771 taxes were assessed, at 
one time, two dollars on each right; at another time, 
three dollars ; and at another time, one. Highways 
were laid out in different sections of the town, but 
principally in the eastern and southern parts, and 
most of them leading to the meeting-house, the great 
religious and political centre. Some of these roads 
were decently made ; others were made barely pass- 
able for cart and oxen; others were mere bridle- 
paths. 



RUNNING THE LINES. 149 

In 1771, the report of the committee on roads con- 
cludes as follows : 

" Also, layed out a road between every Eange in 
all the divisions except where they are altered by the 
points of Compass." 

All the roads laid out in those years were to be 
three rods in width. It is a pity that this early ex- 
ample could not have been followed more closely in 
after years by the authorities of Warner. 

Among the prominent and active proprietors of the 
township under the Masonian grant, were Jonathan 
Barnard, Benjamin Evans, Simeon Bartlett, Ezekiel 
Evans, Nehemiah Ordway, and Ezekiel Dimond. The 
history of these men, in all its details, would greatly 
interest the inhabitants of the town which they found- 
ed, but only a small part of that history is known to 
the present generation. 

" Captain Jonathan Barnard, innholder," is briefly 
mentioned on a preceding page. 

Capt. Benjamin Evans lived at Rocky Hill, Salis- 
bury, Mass. He was a large farmer, a tanner, and a 
dealer in cattle. He also served in the legislature of 
his native state, and was a sheriff many years. As a 
proprietor, he owned lands in Warner. Asa Harriman, 
who was his nephew, bought sixty acres of his land 
on the south side of the Mink hills, and named his 
first son for him. 

Simeon Bartlett was a resident of Amesbury. He 



150 



HISTORY OP WARNER. 



was a brother to Dr. Josiah Bartlett, one of the sign- 
ers of the Declaration of Indej^endence, and one of 
the early chief magistrates of New Hampshire. Sim- 
eon was the father of Joseph, Richard, and Simeon 
Bartlett, who settled in Warner, and the grandfather 
of Levi, Stephen, Thomas H., and Col. Simeon. 

Ezekiel Evans was a resident of Salisbury, Mass., 
and was a brother to Capt. Benjamin. The Ezekiel 
Evans, of Warner, was a distant relative of his. 

Nehemiah Ordway resided in Amesbury, and was 
a doctor. He was jDroprietors' clerk a great many 
years. He visited Warner, and remained in town 
some months, perhaps a year, at one time. He had 
two adjoining lots in the North village, the one being 
the lot on which his great-grandson, John Ordway, re- 
sides. He was the father of Rev. Nehemiah, noticed 
in a former chapter, and of Bradshaw, who settled in 
Warner, and who was the father of Nehemiah and 
Samuel, recently deceased. 

Ezekiel Dimond was originally from Amesbury. He 
was one of the proprietors of Warner, and was regard- 
ed at one time as a citizen of the town, though he had 
no permanent residence here. He settled on Di- 
mond's hill, in Concord, where he remained through 
life. He was the father of Israel, at Dimond's Corner, 
Ezekiel, in the Mirick neighborhood, and Isaac, at 
Joppa. 




OHAPTEE XL 

SETTLEMENT OF FIRST MINISTER — STEPS TOWARDS INCORPORA- 
TION — A CHURCH ORGANIZED — THE SURVEY — FIRST BRIDGE — 
PROPRIETORS' RECORDS. 

T a meeting of the proprietors, in Amesbury, 
Nov. 14, 1770, Voted to pay a dollar and a 
half on each right for the first year, and a dollar a 
year on each right for the next four years, and fifty 
cents on each right for the sixth year, on condition 
that the inhabitants settle an orthodox minister in 
town within two years from December, 1770. 

As there were sixty rights on which this tax was 
to be assessed, this proposed aid from the proprietors 
would amount to the handsome sum of $90 the first 
year, $60 a year for the next four years, and $30 for 
the sixth year. The proprietors believed, of course, 
that the town would be rapidly increasing in numbers 
and wealth, and that the demand for foreign help to 
sustain the church would be growing less and less. 

At the same meeting, — 

Chose Nehemiah Ordway, Simeon Bartlett, and 
Dea. Daniel Morrill, a committee to treat with the 



152 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

settlers' committee in relation to settling a minister 
in town, and having constant preaching, according to 
the charter. 

CONTRACT BETWEEN THE PARTIES. 

" Almsbury March 13, 1771. Pursuant to the votes of the 
proprietors of New Almsbury, so called, in New Hampshire, at 
their meeting Nov. 14, 1770, at the Widow Esther Colby's, We 
the subscribers, in our capacity Do by these presents engage and 
bind ourselves to Isaac Waldron Joseph Sawyer and Isaac Chase 
all of New Almsbury aforesaid committee of the settlers in the 
sum of three hundred and sixty ' milled' dollars to .be paid 90 
dollars on or before December next, and 60 dollars a year for 
4 years after December next, and 30 dollars in five years after 
December next which payment well and truly to be made we bind 
ourselves and successors in the penal sum of 108 jjounds lawful 
money witness our hands in presence of — 

Samuel Barnard Nehemiah Ordway y 

Benjamin Evans Simeon Bartlett >- Committee." 

Daniel Morrill ) 

Two of the committee from the settlers had made 
a journey to Amesbury in the fulfilment of their mis- 
sion with regard to settling a minister. They met 
the committee of the proprietors, on the day above 
written, and then and there signed the contract in 
behalf of the settlers. It was in the words following : 

''Almsbury, March 13, 1771. We the subscribers, Isaac Wal- 
dron Joseph Sawyer and Isaac Chase, committee of the settlers 
in New Almsbury in New Hampshire in our capacity Do by 
these presents bind and oblige ourselves in the sum of 108 pounds 
lawful money, to Dr. Nehemiah Ordway Simeon Bartlett, and 
Deacon Daniel Morrill of Salisbury, to be paid on or before De- 
cember, 1772 : The conditions of the above obligation are such 



CONTRACT BETWEEN THE PARTIES. 153 

that if the above said Isaac Waldron Joseph Sawyer and Isaac 
Chase or the inhabitants of New Almsbury shall settle a Learned 
Orthodox Gospel Jlinister in New Almsbury as above expressed 
on or before December in the year 1772, then the above obliga- 
tion to be void and of none effect, or else to stand in full force 
and virtue : In witness whereof we have set our hands the day 
and date above written : 
In presence of — 

Samuel Barnard Joseph Sawyer ) _, .,, ,, 

-r, • • -T^ T \-M ' i Committee." 

Benjamin il,vans Isaac Chase ) 

This contract needs no explanation, as there is no 
ambiguity about it. It was reHgiously observed by 
the two contracting parties. The inhabitants of the 
township settled their " learned orthodox minister" 
ten months before the expiration of the time in which 
they had bound themselves to do this, in order to se- 
cure the stipulated sums from the proprietors to sup- 
port preaching, and the proprietors on their part 
promptly paid over every dollar, according to con- 
tract. 

To be prepared to meet the conditions of this con- 
tract, the proprietors were obliged to levy additional 
taxes on the rights, and they, at their annual meeting 
in March, 1771,— 

" Voted to raise 4 dollars on each right to defray 
the charges of the year. 

"Voted, also, that Seth Goodwin have 28 acres 
more of land, if he will accept it in lieu of the 15 dol- 
lars voted him at a former meeting, under his distress- 
ed circumstances." 



154 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

What the distressed circumstances of Mr. Goodwin 
were, there is no hving witness to tell. He may have 
been disabled by an accident; his family may have 
been sick ; perhaps his buildings were burned, or his 
" cattle died, and blighted was his corn ; " or his gift- 
lot did n't " pan out " as well as he expected. But we 
may console ourselves with the reflection that it could 
not have been a very grave matter, for the proprie- 
tors, who were alive to every cry of distress, evidently 
thought that about fifteen dollars would make him 
whole. He lived at the Moulton place in Schoodac. 

At a meeting, May 29, 1771, — 

" Chose Capt. Benjamin Evans, Nathan Currier, and 
Benjamin Osgood a committee to prosecute Trespass- 
ers on lands, or for cutting timber." 

At a meeting, July 30, 1771, ordered, — 

£ s. d. q. 
To Mrs. Tarbiatha Barnard, for expenses of propri- 
etors' meetings — 0- 6-4-0 
To Mrs. Esther Colby, for meetings at her house, 2- 2-6-0 
To Nehemiah Ordway, Jr., for preaching, 1-10-0-0 
For preaching in 1771— 16-10-0-0 

At the same meeting. — 

Chose a committee to renew the bounds of lots, so 
that they might be recorded in the proprietors' book ; 
and to see if those persons who had engaged to be- 
come settlers had complied with the terms of their 
agreement, and if not, to make a demand of their 
lots. 



A CHURCH ORGANIZED. 155 

STEPS TOWARDS INC0RP0RATI0:N'. 

At Amesbury, October 24, 1771, — 
Chose Ezekiel Evans and David Bagley a commit- 
tee to get the town incorporated. 

At another meeting, held November, 1771, — 

"Voted that Eliphalet Danford have the Interval 
laying in his Lot." (This intervale and lot belong to 
the Bagley farm, which is now owned by Samuel H. 
Dow.) 

At the same meeting, — 

" Voted that there shall be laid out a 40 acre lot 
for 'the first ordained minister,' near the Meeting 
House, and also, a 40 acre parsonage Lot and a 40 
acre School Lot." 

A CHURCH ORGANIZED. 

A church was organized, and Rev. William Kel- 
ley was ordained and settled in New Araesbury 
(Warner), Feb. 5, 1772. A biographical sketch of 
Mr. Kelley will be found in a subsequent chapter. 
His home in Warner was on the road that leads up 
southerly from the Parade. He built his house after 
his settlement in town. It was a small, one-story 
building. After living in this several years, he added 
a two-story front, it being the first two-story frame 
house built in town. That front now stands in War- 
ner Lower Village, opposite John Aiken's. It was for- 
11 



156 HISTOEY OF WARNER. 

merly occupied by Capt. Joshua Sawyer, and is now 
occupied by his grandson, Herbert Sawyer. 

Let him who can appreciate the grandeur of a 
perfect landscape go up from the guidepost, at the 
Parade, to the site of Rev. William Kelley's house. It 
will be on his left hand. He must not come to this 
place from the opposite direction, nor in the middle 
of the day. It must be at the hour of sunset, for all 
views are comparatively tame at any other hour. 
Standing there, on the strong foundations of the Kel- 
ley house, facing the north, he will catch a view that 
transcends in some respects all other views to be had 
in Warner. 

THE SURVEY. 

The town was surveyed in August, 1772, as stated 
in the second chapter. The work was done under the 
supervision of Hubertus Neal, of Penacook, deputy 
surveyor. William Perkins and Zebulon Davis were 
the sworn chainmen ; Francis Davis and Ezekiel Evans 
were the committee for conducting the survey. This 
party, failing to find an unappropriated territory six 
miles square, and corresponding with the terms of the 
grant, found an equivalent by extending the town- 
ship westward. 

Zebulon Davis was the oldest son of Capt. Francis. 
He was at this time 24 years of age. When he set- 
tled down in life, he lived at the Charles P. Sawyer 
place. His sons were Stephen, Alpheus, and Zebulon. 



FIRST BRIDGE. 157 

At a proprietors' meeting, September, 1772, — 

£.s. 

Ordered for the proj)rietors' part for preaching, 18- 6 

Ordered to Hubertus Neal for running out the town, 6-13 

FIRST BRIDGE. 

In the warrant for a meeting, October 13, 1772, the 
following article appears : 

" To see if the proprietors will assist the inhabitants 
in building a bridge over Amesbury River, near Mr. 
Daniel Flanderses, and in repairing road to Perrys- 
town." 

At the meeting which followed, David Bagley and 
Ezekiel Dimond were chosen a committee to repair 
said road, but no mention is made of the bridge, in 
the records of this meeting. Still, it is probable that 
some provision was made at that meeting, or at one 
which soon followed, for building the bridge. A bridge 
was built the next year (1773), and it stood about 
twenty rods down the river from the present bridge 
by the brick school-house. 

At the annual meeting, March 24, 1773, — 

Voted that the assessors raise five dollars on each right to de- 
fray charges : 

£. s. (I 
Voted to allow Ezekiel Evans for 11 days service running 

out the town, 2-17-0 

Voted to allow Francis Davis, self and son, for the same 

service, 2- 2-6 

Ordered to pay to the settlers' committee for preaching, 18-0-0 

At the same meeting, — 

Chose Benjamin Evans and Simeon Bartlett a committee to 
proceed in the law and eject Jonathan Parmer off his lot of 
Land, and all other trespassers in the township. 



OHAPTEE XII. 

PEOPEIETORS' RECORDS — THE RYE GRANTEES — BOARD OP ARBI- 
TRATORS THEIR AWARD " PARMER" AGAIN. 

T the annual meeting in March, 1773, " Chose a 
committee to meet a number of Gentlemen 
belonging to Rye, upon their desire, and hear their 
proposals and make report at the adjournment of this 
meeting — then the meeting adjourned to the 5th day 
of May." 

No business was transacted at the adjourned meet- 
ing ; but at another, held June 3, 1773, "Voted, that 
Nehemiah Ordway, Nathaniel Currier, Benjamin 
Evans, Simeon Bartlett, Henry Morrill, Samuel Bar- 
nard, Daniel Morrill, Theodore Hoyt, Peter Sargent, 
and Thomas Barnard, or any five of them, be a com- 
mittee to proceed with the Rye committee and have 
the case submitted to men for Arbitration, unless the 
Rye committee propose to take a sum of money 
which our committee shall deem reasonable and think 
proper to pay." 

Said Rye committee consisted of Richard Jenness, 



BOAED OF ARBITRATORS. 159 

Richard Jenness, Jr., Samuel Jenness, Francis Jenness, 
Nathaniel Rand (cordwainer), and Ozam Doust. 

BOARD OF ARBITRATORS. 

The proprietors' committee met the Rye committee 
in conference, and July 20th, 1773, the two commit- 
tees agreed to submit all matters in dispute to a 
board of arbitrators. Each party gave bonds in the 
sum of 1000 pounds, lawful money of the province of 
New Hampshire, to abide the judgment of this board. 
Their agreement was in the words following : 

" All disputes and controversies that have been and still are 
existing between sundry persons who, under the name of Jen- 
nestown Proprietors, claim title to lands within the bounds 
of New Amesbury in the county of Hillsboro' and Province of 
New Hampshire, and the Proprietors of said New Amesbury, 
are submitted for final determination, to Thomas Waldron, Ben- 
jamin Chadbourn, Benjamin Greenleaf and Woodbury Langdon." 

After due deliberation, the arbitrators announced 
the following 

AWARD. 

" Know all men by these presents : That, whereas, the above 
named Richard Jenness, Richard Jenness Jr., Francis Jenness, 

Samuel Jenness, Nathaniel Rand and Ozam Doust Nehemiah 

Ordway, Daniel Quimby, Simeon Bartlett, Nathaniel Currier 
and Benjamin Evans, have, by their Bonds of even date with 
these presents by them respectively executed, submitted to our 
final determination the controversies and disputes in the condi- 
tion of the foregoing obligation mentioned : having taken upon 
us the Burden submitted to i;s, and heard the parties and their 
evidence thereupon, — We do, for the putting an end to the said 



160 HISTOEY OF WARNER. 

Controversy and Dispute make and publish this our Award, in 
manner following ; 

"That, within six months from the date of these Presents, the 
said Proprietors of New Amesbury shall pay unto the Proprietors 
of Jennestown, the sum of 140 pounds Lawful money of the Prov- 
ince of New Hampshire, with interest for the same sum from 
this day until paid ; And that the said Proprietors shall, upon 
the receipt thereof, release unto the said New Amesbury proprie- 
tors all their Eight, Title, and Interest in and unto all the Lands 
lying within the bounds of said Township of New Amesbury, and 
shall free them from the claims of all persons claiming right un- 
der the said Jennestown Grant, and the said Proprietors of Jen- 
nestown shall indemnify them of all damages that may accrue by 
such claims — and that this Award shall be a final end of all said 
controversies and disputes between said parties to us submitted. 

"Witness our hands and seals this twentieth day of July Anno 
Domini, 1773. 

Thomas Waldron 

Benjamin Chadbourn 

Benjamin Greenleaf 

Woodbury Langdon." 

The proprietors met at the Widow Esther Colby's, 
in Amesbury, July 27, 1773, and voted to raise eight 
dollars on each right, to sustain the action of the com- 
mittee in relation to the settlement of the difficulties 
with the Rye proprietors. 

December 2, 1773,— 

£. s. d. q. 

Ordered to committee for settling dispute with Rye pro- 
prietors— 143-3-8-0 

Ordered to Benjamin Evans for services and money, 

paid— 14-3-8-2 

"PARMER" AGAIN. 

At the annual meeting, held March 10, 1774, Ben- 
jamin Evans and Simeon Bartlett were chosen a com- 



ACTION AGAINST TRESPASSEES. 161 

mittee to " eject Jonathan Parmer," or any other per- 
son on land in New Amesbury, claiming under the 
Jennestown proprietors, in case the said Jennestown 
committee neglect to remove the said trespassers. 

At the same meeting, voted to lay out and allot all 
the common land in the township. 

Voted that Isaac Chandler, Joseph Pudney, and 
Dea. Kimball, of Hopkinton, be a committee to exam- 
ine and see whether the settlers " have fulfilled ac- 
cordino; to ag-reement." 

At the same meeting, voted to raise four dollars on 
each right, to defray the charges for the year. 

The Jonathan Palmer case seems to have been a 
perfect " Pandora's box " to the proprietors of War- 
ner. A multitude of evils sprang from it, and much 
litigation grew out of it. It appears that Palmer was 
from Chester; that he came to Warner about the 
year 1765; that he came when the town was techni- 
cally the property of the Rye grantees ; that he came 
under their auspices, and took up a 40-acre lot, and 
made certain improvements upon it. It appears, fur- 
ther, that the Amesbury proprietors made repeated at- 
tempts to drive him out, taking the ground, first, that 
the Rye people had no jurisdiction ; and, second, 
that, even if they had jurisdiction, Palmer had failed 
to comply with their conditions of settlement. He 
had selected an ordinary lot to make a farm of, though 
it was very fair for pasture land. It was a half mile 



162 HISTOEY OF WAENER. 

long, and forty rods wide. It has for a great many 
years constituted a part of the Joshua Bagley farm, 
which is now Samuel H. Dow's. It heads on the Ori- 
gen Dimond lot, and stretches along northward, on 
the upper side of the Dunbar farm, across Ballard 
brook, the north-east corner running over the main 
road and just reaching the railroad. At that point is 
the corner bound, a little below the buildings on the 
said Bagley farm. 

On this lot Palmer cleared, or partly cleared, three 
or four acres, and built something that he called a 
house, though the Amesbury proprietors called it a 
" frame." The new Joppa road runs very near the 
site where this frame stood. The Amesbury proprie- 
tors allowed that if Palmer had complied with the 
terms of settlement prescribed by the Rye grantees 
(even though they had no authority), he should go 
unmolested. But they denied that he had done this, 
and claimed that he was simply a trespasser on land 
not his own. They therefore voted, in March, 1767, 
" to give Increase Morrill a 40 acre Lot near where 
Parmer built a/r«me, he [Morrill] complying with the 
terms and settling as other settlers." This meant that 
Morrill was to have the very lot that Palmer had pre- 
empted, and the first step was to drive Palmer off. 
The law was appealed to for this purpose, and Ports- 
mouth was the theatre of the conflict. But the law's 
delays and the law's uncertainties were again exem- 



ACTION AGAINST TRESPASSERS. 163 

plified. Palmer still " held the fort." Seed-time and 
harvest came, years passed on, and, in August, 1770, 
a meeting was called at Amesbury " To see if the pro- 
prietors will choose a committee to carry on the Law- 
suit commenced by Increase Morrill, against Jonathan 
Palmer, of Chester, for Trespass ;" and Ezekiel Evans 
and Jonathan Barnard were chosen to take the advice 
of the Lords' proprietors in relation to the law-suit 
against said Palmer. 

Then, after another long delay intervened, the pro- 
prietors, March 24, 1773, chose a committee to proceed 
in this law-suit, and eject this man from the lot he had 
selected. And, finally, this latter vote is repeated 
and emphasized at the annual meeting, March 10, 1774. 

Justice requires the presentation of the grounds on 
which Palmer stood and claimed a verdict. He con- 
tended he was rightfully there, because he entered 
upon the lot under the sanction of the Rye grantees. 
He contended further, that even if he had acquired 
no rights under the Rye people, he had acquired a 
perfect title under the Amesbury proprietors by ful- 
filling every obligation which they demanded of set- 
tlers. This the Amesbury people denied. They rep- 
resented, in court and elsewhere, that he had not com- 
plied with a single condition ; that the land he had 
pretended to clear was" covered with logs and with 
standing trees, and that the house he had built " was 
unfit for a pigeon-roost." 



164 HISTORY OP WARNER. 

Palmer fought valiantly, single-handed, and against 
great odds. He evidently lost the field in one en- 
counter, but he seems to have regained it in another. 
The records of Hillsborough county show that this 
redoubtable Jonathan, of New Amesbury, in May, 
1774, sold and deeded to his brother, James Palmer, 
of the same place, for the sum of fifteen pounds, lawful 
money, a tract of forty acres of land, described by 
him as follows : 

" It being a Lot that was laid out to me by my right, 
and afterwards recovered to me by law." 

Thus the contest with this individual seems to have 
ended in a victory for him, whatever may have been 
the fate of the one who held under him. He was 
not ejected. He sold his lot, and took his money and 
his departure from the scene of action. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

THE TOWN INCORPORATED — MILLS AT GREAT FALLS — MORE 

TROUBLE WITH RYE BURYING-YARD AND PARADE CAPTAIN 

FRANCIS DAVIS — NEARING THE END — FINAL MEETING. 

T the annual meeting in March, 1774, the pro- 
prietors took further action by choosing Moses 
Flanders, Ezekiel Evans, and Francis Davis as a com- 
mittee for getting the town incorporated. This com- 
mittee attended to their duty, and in the month of 
September following the town was incorporated by 
the name of 

WARNER. 

£ s. d. 
October, 1774, Ordered to Capt. Francis Davis for 

getting tlie town incorporated — 24-13-6 

Ordered to committee in Warner, for preaching — 18- 0-0 

At the same meeting, Francis Davis and Ezekiel 
Evans were appointed " to allot all the undivided land 
in the township into Lots to each Proprietor in Divi- 
sions as it will hold out." 

In November following, this committee reported as 
follows : 

" In pursuance of the above vote, We the subscribers have 
been on the Township of New Amesbury (now Warner), and 



166 HISTOEY OF WARNER. 

have layed out all the undivided land, and find it to make (with 
what lots were drawn and thrown up) an 80 acre Lot, a 60 acre 
Lot and a 40 acre Lot, to each Proprietor, reserving the County 
Road (main road), that goes through any part of the above Divi- 
sion of 40 acre Lots, and any other roads that may be wanted 
for the use of the town and that may be laid out by the Select- 
men ; also reserving the mill privilege belonging to Capt. Davis 
from damage of flowing the 40 acre Lots according to the true 
intent of the Proprietors in granting said Privilege. 

Francis Davis ) p^^^^^ee " 
Nov. 1774. Ezekiel Evans f ^^"^^^"ee. 

MILLS AT GREAT FALLS. 

At the annual meeting, March, 1775, at Amesbury? 
the proprietors chose their officers for the ensuing 
year, and then, — 

" Voted that the collector give notice by News Pa- 
per in Newbury Port, Mass. and in Portsmouth, N. H. 
at what time the taxes must be paid by the Proprie- 
tors, and that said collector shall have sixpence per 
pound for gathering the Rates." 

At the same meeting. — 

" Voted to empower the assessors to sell the mill 
privilege at Great Falls in the upper part of the town 
to any person that will pay $100, one half of the 
purchase money to be paid next December, and the 
other half to be paid one year after ; said assessors to 
give a Deed to the purchaser and take security for 
the money." 

Voted to raise $3 on each rightj to defray the 
necessary expenses of the year. 



MILLS' AT GREAT FALLS. 167 

Other business was transacted at this meeting, as 
was usual at most meetings, in reference to lines, lots, 
and divisions. Constant changes, in these particulars, 
were being made. 

The great falls, mentioned above, are the falls at 
Waterloo village. 

Nothing occurred at the annual meeting of the 
proprietors, in March, 1776, worthy of note, but at 
the annual meeting of 1777, a committee was chosen 
" To guard against encroachments upon the proprie- 
tors' lands." Said committee were authorized to see, 
when in Warner, that no person had taken possession 
of any lot of land without grant or purchase. 

At the annual meeting in March, 1778, John Barn- 
ard and Simeon Bartlett were chosen "to advertise 
and make sale by auction of the Mill Privilege at the 
Great Falls, and to give the buyer a lawful convey- 
ance, and oblige him to build a Saw Mill in one year 
and a Grist Mill within three years from the time of 
his purchase, and to keep the mills in repair." 

Yoted $2 each to a committee who had settled a 
land difficulty between Christopher Gould and Chris- 
topher Flanders. 

" Voted to give Charles Barnard 4 acres if there be 
so much of Common land at the end of Carter's Lot — 
as Sawyer must have 4 acres from said Barnard's Lot 
or have a law-suit." 



168 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

MORE TROUBLE WITH RYE. 

At the annual meeting, March, 1779, nothing but 
routine business was transacted ; but at a meeting held 
at Amesbury, April the 29th of that year, Simeon 
Bartlett and John Barnard were chosen " to confer 
w^ith a committee of the Proprietors of Jennestown, 
so called, and see if they will remove the encroach- 
ments in the township by persons acting, or claiming 
under said Jennestown Grant." 

In case of a failure of this committee to get a fair 
settlement, they were instructed to take counsel, and 
appeal to a court of law for redress of their wrongs. 

It is difficult, in the absence of any records of their 
own, to understand this conduct of the Rye people. 
According to the award of the commissioners, they 
were to relinquish " all their right, title, and interest 
in and unto all the lands in the township of New 
Amesbury." To this award they submitted (as did 
the other party), but such records as are in existence 
show that they did not in good faith abide by it. 

The head man of the Rye grantees, or proprie- 
tors, was Richard Jenness. Perhaps this trouble is 
chargeable to his door. Perhaps it was lands in War- 
ner that he conveyed to parties by fraudulent papers, 
and if so, these difficulties are accounted for. 

This Richard Jenness, representative for the towns 
of Rye and Newcastle, was expelled from the assem- 



BUEYING-YARD AND PARADE. 169 

bly of the province, at Portsmouth, May 12. 1773, for 
the forgery of deeds of conveyance of lands. 

The inhabitants of Rye and Newcastle, after this 
action of the assembly, were called upon to elect 
another representative to take the place of the ex- 
pelled member, and Amos Seavey, of Rye, was chosen. 
This man was the ancestor of all the Seaveys of War- 
ner. His son Andrew settled between the Mink hills 
and Bradford pond ; and the three sons of Andrew, — 
Burns, Harden, and James, — are well remembered by 
the people of Warner. 

BURYING-YARD AND PARADE. 

At their annual meeting in March, 1784, the pro- 
prietors took steps for having ample grounds set off 
from the meeting-house lot, for a cemetery and a per- 
manent training-field. Simeon Bartlett and David 
Bagley were appointed a committee to carry forward 
this project. They attended to their duty, and report- 
ed that they had " set off from the Meeting House Lot 
about thirteen acres of land for Burying- Yard, Train- 
ing-Field [or Parade] and Highways." 

The metes and bounds of this tract are given in 
detail in the report of the committee, but they would 
not interest the reader, and are therefore not present- 
ed here. It is sufficient to say, that this tract of land 
is at the old cemetery, heading on the Gould road, 
and extending back north to the river. It is forty- 



170 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

one rods in width on the road, and some sixty rods 
deep. It is now mostly covered with a thrifty pine 
growth; but in 1784, and for twenty years before that, 
it was a beautiful slope, carpeted with greensward 
down to the river's edge. Here, on this tract, was 
erected the first house of worship within the town- 
ship, and here the second house also. Here all 
classes, ages, and conditions were wont to congregate 
on the k5abbath day. They toiled up the long ascent 
from the east ; they came in from the north, crossing 
the river almost under the shadow of the church edi- 
fice ; they came down the Gould road from Waldron's 
hill and the Minks ; they poured in from the south in 
great numbers, passing the residence of their minis- 
ter, and often receiving kindly recognition from him 
on the way. The young and gay assembled at that 
sacred place ; and the aged pilgrims, leaning upon 
their staves, were there also, waiting for the consola- 
tion of Israel. During the intermission, these vener- 
able fathers and mothers, on bright summer days, 
" gathered at the river " to recount the past, and to 
recall the graves of their kindred, far away. 

Here, also, was planted the first " city of the dead " 
within the township. Here, year after year, were the 
town elections held, and here the class, embracing 
Warner, Fishersfield, Perrystown, and New Breton, 
assembled annually, to make choice of a representa- 
tive to the general court. Here the town militia, 



CAPTAIN FRANCIS DAVIS. 171 

both under the king and under the United States, 
met on parade for disciphne and drill. Here Captains 
Davis, Flood, and others, in the exercise of lawful 
authority, drew the sword and took command. Here 
the men were warned to meet on parade ; and, 
before the independence of the country, they were 
sometimes " notified and warned to assemble at the 
King's Parade for military drill and exercise." 

CAPTAIN FRANCIS DAVIS. 

As Francis Davis was the first man to be put in 
command of the soldiery of Warner, his authority, in 
the shape of a commission, is herewith presented. 

Province of ) John Wentworth Esq., Captain General and 
New Hampshire ) Governor in Chief, in and over His Majesty's 
Province of New Hampshire, in New England, 

To Francis Davis Esquire — Greeting. 

By virtue of the Power and Authority, in and by His Majes- 
tj^'s Royal Commission to Me granted to be Captain General, &c. 
over His Majesty's Province of New Hampshire aforesaid, I Do, 
by these Presents, reposing especial Trust and Confidence in your 
Loyalty, Courage, and good Conduct, constitute and appoint You 
the said Francis Davis, to be Captain of the 22d Company of 
Foot, in the Ninth Regiment of Militia, in the Province of New 
Hampshire, of which John Goffe Esq. is Colonel. 

You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the Duty 
of a Captain in leading, ordering, and exercising said company in 
Arms, both inferior Officers and Soldiers, and to keej) them in 
good Order and Discipline ; hereby commanding them to obey 
you as their Captain, and yourself to observe and follow such Or- 
ders and Instructions as you shall from time to time receive from 
Me, or the Commander in Chief for the time being, or other your 
superior Officers for His Majesty's Service, according to Military 
Rules and Discipline, pursuant to the Trust reposed in You. 
12 



172 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Given under my Hand and Seal at Arms, at Portsmouth the 
Ninth Day of March, in the thirteenth year of the Eeign of His 
Majesty King George the Third. 

Annoque Domini 1773. J' Wentworth. 

By His Excellency's Command, 
Theodore Atkinson, Sec'y. 

As the cemetery in those days did not extend so 
far down towards Levi Bartlett's as now, Captain 
Davis often paraded his company on ground now 
within its enclosure. At other times the company 
was paraded in the road, by the ledge, and at other 
times on the gentle slope just at the north-east corner 
of the cemetery. 

These grounds are the property of the town to-day, 
but time has wrought great changes there. Unbroken 
silence now reigns on that venerable spot. The voice 
of prayer and the voice of command will be heard 
there no more forever. The dead only sleep there. 
But with what unrivalled poetic beauty Longfellow 
says,— 

" There is no death ! what seems so is transition ; 
This life of mortal breath 
Is but the suburb of the life elysian, 
Whose portal we call death. 

" In that great cloister's stillness and seclusion, 
By guardian angels led. 
Safe from temptation, safe from sin's pollution, 
They live whotn we call deacV 

NEARING THE END. 

As the work of the proprietors of Warner drew 

towards a close, it naturally became less and less 



NEARING THE END. 173 

important. The record of proprietors' meetings, from 
about 1785 onward, becomes yearly less interesting. 
From 1784 to 1792 the proprietors met annually, to 
keep their organization intact, and to transact what- 
ever business must necessarily come before them, but 
they did little in those years except to confirm titles, 
to rectify the boundaries of lots, to make trifling 
grants to certain settlers, for one reason and another, 
and to divide up and draw the last remnants of their 
lands. Having become, to a large degree, residents 
of Warner, the proprietors, from 1792 onward, held 
all their meetings in old township Number One. 

On the 13th day of April, 1792, the following warn- 
ing was posted up at two public places in Warner : 

" In the name of the State of New Hampshire, we Do Hereby 
Notify and warn all the proprietors of the township of Warner 
in the County of Hillsboro' in this State that are legal voters in 
proprietors' meetings, to assemble and meet together at the house 
of Doct. John Currier in Warner on thurs Day the 24th Day of 
may next att one of the clock in the P. M. to act as followeth, 
viz. : 

firstly to chuse a moderator to govern said meeting : 

2 ly to see if the proprietors will vote to Ratify and Confirms 
the proceeding of the former proprietors meetings which ware 
warned and held out of this State or any part thereof : 

3 ly to See if the proprietors will vote to chuse a committee to 
Bring an action or actions against any person or persons that are 
in possession of lands in the town of Warner not having any title 
to the same from under the proprietors of the township of said 
Warner. 

4 ly to See if the proprietors will chuse any committee to settle 
with the former Collectors and all other persons indebted to the 



174 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

proprietors or that have any demand against them ;• and to Dis- 
pose of the Remaining Common Land or any part thereof. 

James flanders ) ^ •,, „ 

m -pi ^ Committee, 

lappan Jivans j 

The proprietors met agreeably to the above warn- 
ing, May 24, 1792, and chose Nathaniel Bean, Esq., 
moderator. 

" att the same meeting voted to chuse a committee 
of three to Examine the former votes of the proprie- 
tors and See what part of them is Necessary to be 
Ratified and make a Report at the adjournment of 
this meeting." 

Nathaniel Bean, Lt. Wm. Ring and Richard Bart- 
lett were chosen said committee. 

" att the Same meeting, voted to chuse a committee 
to Bring an action or to Support one in Behalf of the 
proprietors with those on Lands not claiming them 
under almesbury proprietors." 

Simeon Bartlett, James Flanders, and Nathaniel 
Bean were chosen. 

" att the Same meeting, voted that James flanders 
Esq. and Mr. Tappan Evans be a committee to Dis- 
pose of a gour of land by Mr. Moses Clements." 

FINAL MEETING. 

The last legal meeting of the proprietors was at the 
house of Levi Bartlett, in Warner, March 29, 1830. 
The record of this meeting is in the words following : 



FINAL MEETING. 175 

"Met according to warning and chose Dea. David Heath, 
Moderator, and Levi ])artlett, Clerk. 
'•'On motion of Benjamin Evans Esq. — 

" Resolved, That it is expedient to discontinue the proprietors' 
meetings in Warner, and to choose an agent to take the notes 
and collect the funds of the proprietors, pay all demands against 
them, and divide the money that remains equally among the 
legal proprietors. 

" The above Resolution was carried in the affirmative, and 
Stephen Bartlett was chosen to take the funds and dispose of 
them as directed above. 

" Then the meeting adjourned. 

Levi Bartlett, Clerk." 

Thus ended the work of the proprietors of Warner. 
Much of shadow and but little of sunshine had been 
found in it. Ninety-five years had elapsed since the 
first grant of the township had been made. All ot 
the original grantees, and most of the men and women 
of the next generation, had gone to 

" That undiscovered counrry, from whose bourne 
No traveller returns." 

Many of those grantees, unlike the prophet of old, 
never so much as beheld the promised land ; but their 
descendants, generation after generation, have caused 
the hills and valleys of Warner to teem with plenty, 
and to echo the voices of contentment and gladness. 




OHAPTEE XIV. 

THE INTERMEDIATE STATE FIRST MEETING OP THE SETTLERS 

FAST DAY REV. MR. KELLEY CALLED HIS SALARY HIS 

ORDINATION THE FIRST JURYMAN TOWN CHARTER. 

AVING pursued the proprietors of township 
Number One, in the line of towns, through 
their many tribulations, to the end of their authority 
and the termination of their existence as a legal or- 
ganization, the reader is now invited to go back and 
consider the transactions of the settlers in the town- 
ship. 

In December, 1770, the inhabitants, — the settlers 
of the town then generally called New Almsbury, — 
met together for the first time to take action concern- 
ing their affairs. Hitherto all their municipal matters 
have been managed by the proprietors of the town- 
ship, most of whom lived in another province. Now 
the occupants of the soil begin to be heard. The pro- 
prietors may control their own jpro'perty in the town- 
ship, whether held by them in common or individ- 
ually, but may not longer control the general affairs 
of the settlers. 



THE INTERMEDIATE STATE. 177 

There is yet, however, no legal town organization. 
No act of incorporation has been passed. Hence no 
tax can be collected, no road or bridge can be built, 
no school can be supported, except by voluntary con- 
tribution. This period, from 1770 to 1774, may be 
called the intermediate state. It stands between the 
legal authority of the proprietors over the inhabitants 
on the one hand, and the legal town organization on 
the other. The town is not only not yet organized, 
but it has no 7ia?ne, — no legal name. It was granted 
by Massachusetts as township Number One, but that 
grant fell for want of jurisdiction on the part of the 
grantor, and another grant, from another party, had 
to be obtained. The proprietors, being residents of 
Amesbury, Mass., and that vicinity, generally called 
the town New Almsbury (spelling the name, for some 
unaccountable reason, with an I ). But in convey- 
ances of land and other legal documents, up to the 
time of its incorporation in 1774, the town is called 
" New Almsbury or township Number One." 

It is probable that the Rye proprietors (if they had 
gone forward, settled, and organized the town) would 
have given it the name of Jennestown. But the town 
has never absolutely been known by that name, 
though it may have been indifferently called by it in 
certain cases. So it was called, occasionally, by the 
Masonian proprietors, " Rye Town." And on an old 
English map, made from the survey of Mitchell and 



178 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Hazzen in 1750, it is distinctly marked at the foot of 
"Kjasage," and there called Rye Town. But the 
only established legal name that the town ever had 
is the one it now bears. 

FIRST MEETING OF THE SETTLERS. 

The first public meeting of the settlers of the town 
was held in the meeting-house at the Parade, Decem- 
ber 27, 1770. This meeting took action only in re- 
gard to the religious affairs of the parish. At that 
time the town and church were one. The record of 
the proceedings of that meeting is given below, in 
full, and is as follows : 

" Whereas the Proprietors of a tract of land usually known by 
the name of New Almsbury in the Province of New Hampshire, 
by Nehemiah Ordway, Simeon Bartlett, and Daniel Morrill, their 
committee, have promised and engaged to pay ninety Dollars for 
the first year, and sixty dollars a year for the four years next fol- 
lowing, and thirty dollars for the sixth year, to be applied to the 
support of a Gospel Minister in said New Almsbury and to sup- 
plying the same place witli preaching till such Minister can be 
settled therein, provided such Minister be ordained and settled 
within two years from this time ; 

''And Whereas, said Proprietors have further engaged a right 
of Land as a Proi)rietors' Share in said New Almsbury, to the 
first Ordained Minister in the same place, and also the Improve- 
ment [use] of an other Right or Share in said New Almsbury, as 
a Parsonage during his continuance in the Ministry there ; in 
consideration of said promises and engagements of the Proprie- 
tors aforesaid, and in consideration also that Isaac Waldron, Isaac 
Chase, and Joseph Sawyer, a committee chosen and appointed by 
the majority of the inhabitants of said New Almsbury will use 
their best endeavors that an Able and Learned Minister of the 
Gospel, approved by the Pastors of the neighboring Churches, 



FIRST MEETING OF THE SETTLERS. 179 

may be settled and ordained in said New Almsbiiry according to 
said proposal of the Proprietors aforesaid : We whose names are 
hereunto subscribed being inhabitants of said New Almsbury and 
being willing to encourage and promote so laudable a design ; Do 
promise each for himself to pay to the said Isaac Waldron, Isaac 
Chase, and Joseph Saw3^er, or to the survivors of them our just 
and ratable proportion, according to our respective estates, of 
whatever sum or sums of money shall be needed to defray the 
charges of hireing some Preacher qualified as aforesaid to preach 
in said New Almsbury on probation for settlement, and also 
for the settlement and Ordination of said minister, and also for 
his yearly Salary or allowance afterwards ; Said Minister to be 
chosen and his Salaiy appointed b}' the majority of the inhabi- 
tants of said New Almsbury, and the allowance per day to 
Preachers as by custom to be the price to be paid, and if any- 
thing further be given for the encouragement of a Minister to 
settle among us the same shall be by agreement by the inhabi- 
tants, and all charges or sums of money to be paid by us as afore- 
said shall be assessed by the said Waldron, Chase, and Sawyer, or 
their survivors in the same manner as the Province Taxes are by 
Law assessed, and paid by each of us respectively our said Tax 
within one calendar month from the time we are notified of the 
same ; provided the Proj)rietors aforesaid shall well and faith- 
fully perform all of their several promises and engagements, and 
that we shall and may have the full benefit of the money which 
thereby shall be paid by said Proprietors, the same shall be de- 
ducted, when paid, out of the Salary of said Preacher or minister, 
and our several assessments abated in proportion to the money 
so paid by said Proprietors, and that all of the money paid b}^ us 
and the said Proprietors shall be faithfully applied to the support 
of the Gospel in said New Almsbury. And in case no minister 
of the Gospel shall be Ordained in said town within the space of 
two years, or in case the Proprietors aforesaid shall neglect to pay 
any sum by them promised for the term of one year from the 
time said money was to be paid, in either case the promise by us 
made shall be Void as to all time to come, but shall stand good 
against us for all debts due any Gentleman for preaching in said 
town by us engaged. Provided further that this writing shall be 
of no force against any Subscriber of the same unless Nine Tenths 



180 



HISTORY OF WARNER. 



in number of the present inhabitants of said New Almsbury shall 
subscribe the same ; and in case of failure of performance by either 
of us subscribing, of any of the articles according to the true 
intent and meaning of the writing, then we are each of us to for- 
feit for each and every such failure of his own, ten pounds, Law- 
ful money, to be collected by the said Waldron, Chase and Saw- 
yer, said money to be applied to the support of the Gospel as 
above directed. 

'^In consideration of all the articles above written, we have 
hereunto subscribed our names, this 27th da}^ of December, 
1770." 

Though the meaning of the above bond or obliga- 
tion is somewhat obscured by verbiage, the reader 
will probably be able to comprehend it. It has been 
thought best to give it in full here, as it is em- 
braced in the proceedings of the Jirst meeting of the 
settlers. Forty-five names are appended to the docu- 
ment. They are substantially the names that appear 
on a former page, in the list of early settlers, and 
they need not be repeated. 

At a meeting of the inhabitants of the township, 
held Feb. 14, 1771, Joseph Sawyer acting as moder- 
ator, — 

"Voted that Mr. Nehemiah Ordway stay one day more. 

" Voted that the committee designated in the Bond for provid- 
ing preaching, shall send for Mr. Wm. Kelley to preach here 
three Sabbaths, and that Mr. Joseph Sawyer shall board the min- 
ister." 

At another meeting of the inhabitants, held May 
14, 1771, Francis Davis acting as moderator, — 

" Voted to hire three days preaching ; 

" Also, voted that Mr. Daniel Flanders shall keep the Settlers' 
Bond, taken from Daniel Gale's of Concord." 



FAST DAY. 



181 



This was a bond given by the settlers to the pro- 
prietors of the town, for the fulfilment of their obli- 
gations in relation to building houses, clearing lands, 
and making improvements generally upon their gift- 
lots. It had been several years in the custody of 
Mr. Gale. 

At another meetins; of the inhabitants and free- 

holders of New Almsbury, held at their meeting-house 

Sept. 26, 1771, Francis Davis acting as moderator, 

and Daniel Flanders as clerk, — 

'^ Voted to hire Mr. Kelley six Sabbaths from this date, and 
that Joseph Sawyer board Mr. Kelley during said term of time." 

FAST DAY. 

At the same meeting, — 

" Voted that Mr. Kelley appoint a Day of Fast, and that Mr. 
Isaac Waldron go to the neighboring Ministers and invite them to 
attend said Fast." 

There is no evidence on record going to show that 
Isaac Waldron saddled his horse and pushed off to 
Salisbury, to Boscawen Plain, to Hopkinton, and to 
Henniker, to invite the ministers of those towns up 
to this fast, — no evidence, in fact, that Mr. Kelley 
appointed such a day in accordance with the above 
vote. Fasting has, in all ages and among all nations, 
been resorted ' to in times of mourning and sorrow. 
Joshua and the elders of Israel remained prostrate 
before the ark from morning until evening, without 
eating, after the Israelites were defeated by the men 



182 



HISTORY OF WARNER. 



of Ai. The king of Nineveh, terrified by Jonah's 
preaching, made an order that not only the men, but 
the beasts also, should continue without eating or 
drinking. The Jews, in times of public calamity, 
made even the children at the breast fast. But no 
good reason appears for this Fast day in Warner. The 
inhabitants had got through the Ked sea. Neither war, 
pestilence, nor famine stalked abroad in the land. The 
harvests of 1771 were abundant. The infant town of 
New Almsbury was rapidly filling up with substantial 
settlers. The second meeting-house had been just 
erected, and all the people were attending upon the 
ministrations of the sanctuary. The young clergy- 
man, who was soon permanently settled over the 
parish, was popular in the pulpit and fascinating in 
manner out of it. There was every reason for thanks- 
giving, but none whatever appears iov fasting. 

MR. KELLEY CALLED. 

The inhabitants met at their meeting-house Nov. 4, 

1771, and after choosing Francis Davis, moderator, and 

Daniel Flanders, clerk, — 

" Voted to give Mr. William Kelley a Call to Settle in the 
Ministry in this place, and that our said committee, Waldron, 
Chase and Sawyer, shall extend the call to Mr. Kelley in behalf 
of the Inhabitants." 

At this and a subsequent meeting, held Dec. 17, 
1771, the salary and maintenance of Rev. Mr. Kelley 
were fixed by the following votes : 



MR. KELLEY CALLED. 183 

" Voted to give Mr. Kelley for the first year 40 pounds, lawful 
money, and to rise one poitnd ten shillings a year, for 13 years 
and four months, or till his Salary shall amount to sixty pounds 
a year, lawful money. 

'' Voted, also, to give Mr. Kelley $100, in labor at two and six- 
pense per day, or if dinners are found, the work to be performed 
at 2 shillings per day. 

" Voted, also, to give Mr. Kelley 20 cords of Wood annually to 
be cut and hauled to his door. 

" Voted, also, to cut down and clear the trees from three acres 
of land each year, for three years, on Mr. Kelley's Lot — and that 
said nine acres of land shall be cleared by a tax on the Inhabi- 
tants at the rate of $7.50 per acre — workmen to be hired at 
2s. Qd. per day and commence their day's work at 7 o'clock in the 
morning." 

This salary looks small to the people of the. present 
day, but, if it was paid promptly, it was sufficient. It 
afforded the family of Mr. Kelley ample support. 
Money was money at that time. 

The regular salary was forty pounds a year, which 
was $133.33. Then they added $100 a year in labor 
at " two and six" a day, the laborer "finding himself." 
This was laid out about his buildings, and in general 
farm work. Then they added twenty cords of wood 
annually, cut and hauled to his door; and then, again, 
in addition to all this, they were to clear three acres 
of land a year on his farm for three years. These 
payments, in the aggregate, amounted to not less 
than $275, which was as good as $800 or $1000 
now. 

But this is not all, for they voted to rise $5 a year 



184 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

for thirteen years and a third, or until the direct sal- 
ary should amount to sixty pounds, or $200, a year. 
While this (if paid) yielded Mr. Kelley a fair support, 
the settlers were not ground down by heavy taxation. 
The pro2}rietors paid $90 of this sum the first year, 
sixty dollars a year for the next four years, and thirty 
dollars for the sixth year. After the sixth year they 
left the inhabitants to go alone. 

ORDINATION. 

Rev. William Kelley was ordained and settled in 
New Amesbury, Feb. 5, 1772. This appears among 
the records of the proprietors in a former chapter. A 
church was organized at the same time, a full account 
of which, and of its several pastors, will be found un- 
der the head of " Ecclesiastical History." 

The only record in the books of the inhabitants, 
referring to the ordination, is found in their doings 
at the annual meeting, held March 25, 1772. At this 
meeting, Isaac Chase acting as moderator, and Par- 
menas Watson as clerk, — 

" Voted to allow Mr. Isaac Waldron's account for pro- 
vision lie made the Ministers at the Ordination, — 

" Voted to allow Isaac Chase's account for board of Min- 
isters and other services performed for the town, — 

" Voted to allow Mr. Joseph Sawyer for board of Mr. 
Kelley, and other services for the town, all lawful 
money — 

" Voted to raise to defray the necessary charges of the 

year, lawful money — 52-10 



£ 


s. 


2- 


1 


1- 


11 


£ s. 


d. 


3-3- 


3 


£ 


s. 



ORDINATION. 185 

At this meeting, Daniel Flanders, Seth Goodwin, 
and Daniel Flood were chosen assessors, and Jacob 
Tucker collector, for the year. Their duties had 
reference simply to the matters of the church. No 
selectmen or other officers were chosen for the g-en- 
eral management of town affairs during the continu- 
ance of this intermediate state. 

The sale of the pews in the meeting-house, which 
occurred in September, 1772, has already been set 
forth among the transactions of the proprietors. 

At the annual meeting of the inhabitants, March 
30, 1773, Isaac Chase was chosen moderator, and Dan- 
iel Flanders, clerk. Dea. Parmenas Watson, Francis 
Davis, and Dea. Nehemiah Heath were chosen asses- 
sors "to take Invoice and make out the Rates." Jacob 
Tucker was again chosen collector. 

The assessors were instructed to carry the town 
inventory to the office of the secretary of state. This 
was done under the direction of the royal government 
of the province. 

A meeting of the inhabitants was held June 17, 
1773, by virtue of a warrant from John Goffe, Esq., 
for the purpose of raising a province tax. The sum 
required of the town of New Amesbury was £3 16s. 
lawful money. 

At the annual meeting of the inhabitants, March 
29, 1774, Isaac Chase was chosen moderator, and 
Daniel Flanders, clerk. Capt. Daniel Flood, Lieut. 



186 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Jacob Waldron, and Isaac Chase were chosen asses- 
sors, and Jacob Sawyer, collector. 

"Voted to raise £54 lawful money, to defray all expenses of 
town and for preaching above the 18 pounds to be received from 
the proprietors for preaching." 

" Voted that we should be glad to have the town Incorporated 
and that the Assessors send a letter to the Proprietors to see what 
they will do about having it incorporated." 

The condition of affairs was not satisfactory during 
this period. Perhaps there was not much actual dis- 
order in town, but there was wanting that wholesome 
fear of law which has been found essential in all com- 
munities. There could be no compulsion, for the 
town government that then existed was simply the 
voluntary association of men. Hence the inhabitants 
would be " glad to have the town incorporated." The 
proprietors, it will be recollected, had already initiated 
steps looking to this end. 

THE FIRST JURYMAN. 

At a meeting held June 14, 1774, — 

"Voted to allow Dea. Nehemiah Heath's account of Eight 
Shillings, and nine pence, Lawful monej'-, for his services as Jury- 
man to Amherst." 

In the account of this meeting is the following 
record : 

" This day Stephen Edmunds appeared at town meeting and 
acknowledged it to be the first time that he ever appeared at a 
town meeting in this town." 



CHARTER. 187 

It is not quite clear whether this fact was an- 
nounced by Mr. Edmunds in a feeUng of exultation, 
or confessed in a spirit of contrition. 

At the next meeting of the inhabitants, which was 
held July 14, 1774,— 

" Voted that the Records which have been destroyed by JFire^ 
in consequence of the burning of the present Clerk's house, shall 
again be recorded as he has collected them, and stand good." 

"Voted that Captain Francis Davis shall go and get the town 
Incorporated, if the Proprietors will find the money to do it with," 
[The proprietors did find the money.] 

" Voted that Captain Daniel Flood shall keep the Covenant 
Obligation, for us, the inhabitants of New Almsbury." [This is 
supposed to refer to the Church Covenant, and this is the last 
vote ever given by the town in its inchoate state.] 

In September, 1774, Francis Davis went on his 
mission to the seat of the provincial government at 
Portsmouth. There he was joined by Ezekiel Evans, 
of Salisbury, Mass. (agent for the proprietors), whose 
mission, like his own, was to get the town incorpo- 
rated. They found no insurmountable obstacles in 
their path, but were entirely successful in their un- 
dertaking. They obtained the following 

CHARTER. 

Province of ) George the Third by the grace of God of 
New Hampshire j Great Britain France and Ireland King De- 
fender of the Faith, &c. 

To all People to whom these presents shall come — 

Greeting. 

Whereas our loyal subjects Inhabitants of a Tract of Land 

within our Province of New Hampshire, aforesaid, commonly 

called and known by the Name of New Almsbury, containing by 

13 



188 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

estimation about six Miles square, have humbly petitioned and 
requested Us that they may be erected and incorporated into a 
Township and enfranchised with the same powers and privileges 
which other Towns within our said Province by Law have and 
enjoy, and it appearing to us to be conducive to the general Good 
of our said Province as well as to the said Inhabitants in particu- 
lar, by maintaining good order and encouraging the culture of 
the Land that the same should be done — 

Know ye that We of our special grace, certain knowledge, and 
for the encouragement and promotion of the good purposes and 
ends aforesaid, by and with the advice of our trusty and well be- 
loved John Wentworth Esq. our Governor and Commander in 
Chief of our said Province and of Our Council of the same, have 
created and ordained, and by these presents for Us Our Heirs and 
Successors, do will and ordain that the Inhabitants of said Tract of 
Land and others who shall improve and inhabit therein hereafter, 
the same being butted and bounded as follows, viz : — 

Beginning at a place called and known by the name of Contoo- 
cook, thence running North fifteen degrees West six Miles, then 
running from each end of the Line, West five degrees South, six 
miles, then crossing and running over on a Straight Course from 
one end of these last mentioned lines, at the end of the said six 
miles, to the other, so as to make up the quantity of six Miles 
square and no more, Be and they are hereby declared to be a 
Town Corporate, by the name of — 

WARNER, 

To have continuance forever, with all the Powers and authorities, 
Privileges, immunities and Franchises which any other Towns in 
our said Province by Law hold and enjoy, to the said Inhabitants 
or those who shall hereafter inhabit there, and to their successors 
forever, always reserving to Us Our Heirs and Successors, all 
White Pine Trees that are or shall be found being and growing 
upon the said Tract of Land fit for the use of Our Royal Navy. 
Reserving also, unto Us our heirs and Successors the power of 
dividing said Town when it shall appear necessary and conven- 
ient for the Inhabitants thereof — 

Provided nevertheless, and it is hereby declared that this Char- 



CHARTER. 189 

ter and Grant is not intended and shall not in any manner be 
construed to affect the private property of the soil within the 
limits aforesaid : — 

And as the several Towns within our said Province are, by the 
Laws thereof, enabled and authorized to assemble, and by Major- 
ity of the voters Present, to chuse all officers and transact such 
affairs as in the said Laws are Declared, we Do by these Presents 
nominate and appoint Captain Francis Davis to call the first 
Meeting of the said Inhabitants to be held in the said Town at 
any time Avithin sixty Days frome the Date hereof. Giving Legal 
Notice of the time and Design of holding such Meeting, after 
which the annual Meetings for said Town shall be held for the 
choice of said officers and the Purposes aforesaid, on the First 
Tuesday in the month of March annually. 

Li Testimony whereof We have Caused the seal of our said 
Province to be hereunto affixed. 

Witness our aforesaid Governor and Commander in Chief, this 
third day of September, in the 14th year of our Reign Annoque 
Domini 1774. 

J' Wentworth. 

By His Excellency's 
Command, 

Theo. Atkinson, Sec'y. 



CHAPTER XY. 

NAME OF THE TOWN DANIEL WARNER COL. SETH WARNER — 

HIS CHARACTER AND SERVICES. 

IHE names of towns are often brought by the first 
settlers from the homes they left. Thus, to hun- 
dreds of towns in New England and to thousands in 
the country, English names have been applied. Thus 
Hopkinton, Salisbury, and Bradford came by the 
names they bear. Towns are also frequently named 
for persons of character and worth. Boscawen takes 
its name from Lord Boscawen of the British navy ; 
Webster takes the name of the foremost man of 
America ; Wilmot received its name from Dr. Wil- 
mot, an Englishman, who at one time was supposed 
to be the author of the celebrated Junius papers ; Hen- 
niker received its name from Gov. Wentworth, who 
conferred it upon the town in honor of his friend, 
John Henniker, a merchant in London, and a mem- 
ber of the British parliament when that town was 
incorporated. 

Warner, New Hampshire, was the only town by 



NAME OF THE TOWN. 191 

that name in the United States till a recent date. 
There is no other now east of the Alleghany Moun- 
tains, and but one west of those mountains by that 
name. The author of this volume has no doubt that 
this name was conferred upon his native town in 
recognition of the services of Colonel Seth Warner, the 
champion of the New Hampshire Cause in the mem- 
orable contest between this province and that of New 
York. The late B. E. Harriman never entertained a 
doubt that the town received its name from this 
source. The writer never heard such doubt ex- 
pressed till a few years since; so, in 1870. he pre- 
pared so much of this chapter as relates to Col. War- 
ner, to be woven into a history of the town, which 
the late H. H. Harriman, at that time, had some 
thought of writino;. 

But it is found that differences of opinion exist. 
There are those who believe that the town received 
its name from Daniel Warner, of Portsmouth, who 
was in the provincial council from 1753 to the com- 
mencement of the Revolutionary strife. The tradi- 
tion seems to be, that this Daniel Warner came into 
the township before its incorporation, and, finding no 
bridge over the river, promised to contribute forty 
dollars towards building such a structure if the inhab- 
itants would call the town by his name, and that the 
town accepted the proposition. 

With the utmost respect for those who entertain 



192 HISTORY OF WARNER. , 

this belief, the author must dissent from it, and for 
the following reasons : 

1. It is evident (for the records everywhere have 
been searched) that Daniel Warner never owned an 
acre of land in the township before or since its incor- 
poration ; and there is no evidence, and but little 
probability, that he ever set foot upon its soil. In 
other sections of New Hampshire this man held large 
landed estates, and his honors would naturally have 
come (if at all) from a section where his interests 
were, instead of from one where he had no interests, 
and where he was probably entirely unknown. 

2. According to the tradition, it was "Co?. Warner" 
who proposed to contribute the forty dollars. But 
Daniel Warner, of the council, was never a colonel at 
all, and was never known by that title. Seth Warner 
was a colonel, and if either one of the Warners rode 
through the township and found no bridge, this is 
probably the man. He was in close correspondence 
with Gov. Wentworth during the " border war," at the 
very time the town was incorporated, as well as for 
several years before. His name was as familiar in 
New Hampshire at that time as a household word. 
Ethan Allen made journeys to Portsmouth to consult 
with the government of the province during the bor- 
der difficulty, and why should not Seth Warner have 
done this ? He was the stern defender of the New 
Hampshire Grants, and he had the confidence of the 



NAME OF THE TOWN. 193 

New Hampshire government more than Allen. If he 
ever made this journey, his true course was through the 
ioimi of Warner. 

3. Daniel Warner never 2Kdd a dollar towards build- 
ing or repairing any bridge in town ! The silence of 
the records is proof of this, and the believers in the 
" tradition" admit that nothing was ever paid. Yet 
Daniel Warner was a man of great wealth through 
life, and he left at his death a large estate. What 
shall be said of this act of bad ftiith on his part ? As 
the story runs, the people of the town promptly per- 
formed their part of the contract, and then he refused 
to perform his. It was a downright swindle ! — and 
the voice of every man and woman in town, if the 
name came from that source, would have demanded a 
chanore. 

4. Daniel Warner was not loyal in the great strug- 
gle for national existence. He followed in the foot- 
steps of his chief, the royal governor. In short, he 
was a tory, and he fell under the ban of an exacting 
public opinion. 

The Committee of Safety of the colony of New 
Hampshire sent out, in April, 1776, to the seve- 
ral towns of the colony, the following pledge or 
test : 

" We, the subscribers do hereby solemnly engage and promise, 
that we will to the utmost of our Power, and the risque of our 
Lives and Fortunes, with Arms, oppose the hostile proceedings 



194 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

of the Britisli Fleets and Armies against the United American 
Colonies." 

This was New Hampshire's declaration of indepen- 
dence. It preceded the national declaration of July 
4th. Eight thousand one hundred and ninety-nine 
(8199) persons signed it, and seven hundred and sev- 
enty-three (773) refused to sign. Among those who 
refused to sign this patriotic test were 
Daniel Warner 
and 
Jonathan Warner. 

In the list of persons in Portsmouth, reported to 
the Committee of Safety as " notoriously disaffected to 
the Common Cause," is the name of 
Jonathan Warner. 

The Committee of Safet}^, in 1777, ordered the 
sheriff" of Rockingham county to seize from Jona- 
than Warner two hogsheads of rum, for the use of 
the American army, " as he would not sell it to the 
army at a reasonable rate." Daniel Warner, the 
father, was the chief member of this firm, and it was 
his property that was thus confiscated by order of the 
Committee of Safety. These two Warners (father 
and son) clung to the fortunes of Gov. Wentworth, 
who was compelled to flee the country. They both 
refused to sign the Association Test. They both had 
their property confiscated. They were both on the 
side of the enemy in the supreme struggle of the col- 



NAME OF THE TOWN. 195 

onies for independence, and the public odium rested 
severely upon the heads of both. 

In that day of intolerance and hate, when the un- 
faithful were pursued ; when they were driven from 
the town, the state, and even across the seas ; when 
they were tarred and feathered ; when their printing- 
presses were destroyed, and their houses were sacked 
and burned ; when their names were hissed, and their 
persons treated with indignity, — is it probable that the 
patriotic citizens of Warner had so little . self-respect 
as to tolerate this name, if derived from the quarter 
claimed ? Is it probable that Capt. Francis Davis, 
who had three sons in the Revolutionary army, two 
of whom were in the battle of Bunker Hill, — Francis 
Davis, the first representative, elected the year that 
gave the nation birth, — is it probable that he w^ould 
have submitted tamely to this dishonor, when the 
mere expression of a wish on his part would have 
caused an immediate repudiation of the name ? 

Is it probable that John Langdon, Meshech Weare, 
Josiah Bartlett, John Sullivan, or any of their com- 
peers, would have permitted the name to stand, if 
bestowed to honor one who proved unfaithful in the 
"■ time that tried men's souls" ? 

Assuming: that the town takes its name from Col. 
Seth Warner, a brief sketch of his character and ser- 
vices wnll be useful and interesting to the reader. 
His life, though short, was an active one, and full of 



196 



HISTORY OF WARNER. 



incident ; but space will not permit any extended 
reference to his public career. He was born in 
Roxbury, Litchfield county, Connecticut, in 17*43. 
He was the son of Dr. Benjamin Warner, who in 
1763 removed with his family to Bennington, in the 
New Hampshire Grants. This was the second year 
after the settlement of that town. 

In 1765, Seth Warner, at the age of 22, went back 
to Connecticut, and married a young lady who had 
been his school-mate, and of whom it is said, " She 
was always his first choice at the spelling-school." 
Their home in Bennington was opposite " The Wild- 
Cat Tavern," which became famous in history as the 
head-quarters of the Vermont patriots during the bor- 
der struggle, and also during the subsequent struggle 
for independence. An air of romance seems to hover 
over this whole region. It is a magnificent country, 
and the stirring events which transpired there have 
made it memorable forever. The hotel took this 
name from the fact that on the large sign which 
creaked in the wind there was a full-sized painting of 
a fierce wild-cat. The Council of Safety held a per- 
petual session in that tavern during the first years of 
the Revolution, and Gen. Stark was not an unknown 
guest in that house. He mounted his horse at its 
front door on the morning of August 16, 1777, and 
rode to the battle. 

Benning Wentworth, the royal governor of New 



SETH WARNER. 197 

Hampshire, granted Bennington to Connecticut and 
Massachusetts proprietors in 1749. He granted many 
other townships in the present state of Vermont 
(which territory was called the New Hampshire 
Grants), claiming that the province of New Hamp- 
shire extended westward to within twenty miles of 
the Hudson river. The New York authoHties dis- 
puted this claim, and contended that their jurisdiction 
extended eastward to the Connecticut river. A bitter 
controversy grew up betw^een the two colonies, the 
settlers upon the grants generally siding with New 
Hampshire. New York made attempts to drive these 
settlers out, or to compel them to pay for their lands 
again, and to pay to New York. When the execu- 
tive officers of New York came to eject the settlers 
from their possessions, they were resisted. At the 
head of these settlers stood Seth Warner, — a man of 
noble physique, two or three inches above six feet 
tall, straight as a hickory tree, and compactly built. 
In the History of Vermont, by Samuel Williams, ll. d., 
it is said of Warner, " He was cool, steady, resolute, 
and fully determined that the laws of New York 
respecting the settlers should never he carried into 
execution^ 

The government of New York, early in this contro- 
versy, offered a reward of £20 each for the arrest of 
Warner and several others, but that offer did not in 
the least weaken the firmness of these patriotic men. 



198 



HISTORY OF WARNER. 



They continued, without wa\'^nng, to defend the set- 
tlers under the New Hampshire Grants, and to resist, 
with force when necessary, all attempts of the New 
Yorkers to drive them out. 

To show still further the heat of the controversy, 
and the hazard of opposing the New York authorities, 
the follo\^ing enactment of that government is pre- 
sented : 

" If any person or persons ojipose any civil officer of New York 
in the discharge of his official duty, or wilfully burn or destroy 
the grain, corn or hay of any other person ; or if any j^ersons, un- 
lawfully, riotously, and tumultuously assembled together to the 
disturbance of the public peace, shall wilfully and with force, de- 
molish or pull down, or begin to demolish or pull down, any 
dwelling-house, barn, stable, grist-mill, or outhouse, within either 
of the counties of Alban}^ or Charlotte, then each of such offences 
shall be judged felony, without benefit of clergy, and the offenders 
therein shall be adjudged felons, and shall suffer death, as in case 
of felony, without benefit of clergy." , 

A copj^ of this law was forwarded to the sheriffs, 
and was posted up by them in public places, with the 
following clause added : 

"And in case such offenders shall not respectively surrender 
themselves, he or she, so neglecting or refusing, shall, from the 
day appointed for his surrender as aforesaid, be adjudged, deemed, 
and (if indicted for a capital offence hereafter to be perpetrated) 
convicted of felon}', and shall suffer death, as in case of persons 
convicted of felony by verdict and judgment, without benefit of 
clergy." 

At the same time the governor of New York issued 
a proclamation, offering a reward oi fifty 'pounds each 
for apprehending and securing Setli Warner, Ethan 



SETH WARNER. 199 

Allen, Remember Baker, and several others. And yet 
these undaunted men remained true to their convic- 
tions. This " bloody code," and this additional re- 
ward, failed to move them. Though they might, in 
a figurative sense, have adopted the words of Paul, 
" In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, 
in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft," yet they 
never swerved. 

It appears that Albany and Charlotte counties 
were made, by the New York authorities, to cover 
the whole of the New Hampshire Grants. It appears 
further, from the spirit of this law, that the settlers 
generally stood boldly by their rights, and did not 
quietly tolerate the partisans of New York who were 
in their midst. They undoubtedly made the water 
rather hot for them. 

Various associations were formed among the set- 
tlers for the protection of their rights, and a conven- 
tion of representatives from the several towns on the 
west side of the Green Mountains was called. In the 
meantime the s^overnment of New York was makino; 
grants and establishing courts in this territory. The 
sheriff of Albany county being required to execute a 
writ of possession against James Breckenridge, of 
Bennington, called to his assistance, by order of the 
New York government, a posse of 750 armed men. 
The settlers, having timely notice of his approach, 
prepared for resistance. Seth Warner was at their 



200 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

head. He formed his men just west of the Wild-Cat 
Tavern, in two ranks, facing the enemy. They stood, 
with grounded arms, in silence, Warner at the front. 
The sheriff, having approached to within ten rods of 
Warner's line, with his army, halted, and, after a few 
minutes' consultation with his officers, beat a hasty 
retreat. Not a gun was fired on either side. 

John Munro, a sheriff under New York authority, 
moved, perhaps, b}' a hope of reward and a desire for 
notoriet}^, on the 22d day of March, 1772, resolved to 
attempt the arrest of Warner. He soon found his 
opportunity. Warner, in company with a single 
friend, was riding in the vicinity of Munro's resi- 
dence, and being met by Munro and several of his 
dependents, a brisk conversation ensued, in the midst 
of which Munro seized the bridle of Warner's horse, 
and commanded those present to assist in arresting 
him. Warner instantly struck Munro over the 
head with a dull cutlass, and levelled him to the 
ground. 

In the History of Vermont, by Williams, already 
referred to, it is said, — "In services of this dangerous 
and important nature Warner was engaged from the 
year 1765 to 1775." And it may be added, that, dur- 
ing this whole period often years, he was on intimate 
relations with the government and people of New 
Hampshire. John Wentworth, and those in authority 
with him, would have been guilty of base ingratitude 



SETH WAENER. 201 

if they had not, in some manner, acknowledged or 
recognized his services. 

In the Revohition, Col. Warner's record, though cut 
short by wounds and disease, was a brilliant one. He 
was in at the tap of the drum. He commanded the 
small force that took Crown Point. A regiment of 
^* Green Mountain Boys " was raised, and Seth War- 
ner, as lieut. colonel, was placed in command. In 
the Life of Ethan Allen, by Jared Sparks, referring 
to this matter, it is stated that, after the capture of 
Ticonderoga and Crown Point, "Allen and Warner 
set off on a journey to the Continental Congress, with 
a design of procuring pay for the soldiers who had 
served under them, and of soliciting authority to raise 
a new regiment in the New Hampshire Grants." 

In both these objects they were successful. By an 
order of congress they were introduced on the floor 
of the house, and when they had each addressed the 
house they withdrew. It was resolved by congress 
that a regiment should be raised, not exceeding 500 
men, and to consist of seven companies. A lieut. 
colonel was to be the highest officer. The commit- 
tees of safety of several townships assembled at Dor- 
set to choose officers for the new regiment. The 
choice fell on Seth Warner for lieut. colonel, and on 
Samuel Safford for major. A portion of the commit- 
tee ^Vanted Allen for the commanding officer of the 
regiment : he received five votes, and Warner forty, 



202 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

In September, 1775, Warner is foimd at the head 
of this regiment during the siege of St. John's by 
Gen. Montgomery. Their term of service having 
expired on the 20th of November, Montgomery dis- 
charged them with thanks for meritorious services, 
and they returned to the New Hampshire Grants. In 
the attack on St. John's, our force under Gen. Mont- 
gomery was completely successful, as the British army 
was captured and destroyed. Warner and his regi- 
ment bore a conspicuous part in that engagement. 

Warner, in dead of winter, raised another force, 
and marched to join Gen. Wooster at Quebec. This 
winter campaign in Canada proved extremely dis- 
tressing. In the spring of 1776 a large body of 
British troops arrived at Quebec, and the American 
army was compelled to make a hasty retreat. Col. 
Warner took a position exposed to great danger, and 
requiring the utmost vigilance. He was always at 
the rear, picking up the wounded and diseased, drum- 
ming up the stragglers, and keeping just before the 
advance of the British army. 

Congress, on the 5th day of July, 1776, resolved to 
raise a regiment, consisting of new troops and a por- 
tion of those who had served with so much reputation 
in Canada, to be commanded, as before, by a lieut. 
colonel. Warner was again appointed, but the New 
York people were bitterly hostile to him. The Pro- 
vincial Congress of that state demanded his removal 



SETH WAENER. 203 

from the command, " especially as this Warner hath 
been invariably opposed to the legislature of this 
state, and hath been, on that account, proclaimed an 
outlaw by the late government thereof" But Warner 
was not interfered with. He raised his regiment and 
repaired to Ticonderoga, where he remained till the 
close of the campaign. When the American army 
fell back from Ticonderoga, it was hotly pursued by 
the British. Warner again took position at the rear, 
and had several fierce engagements with the advance 
line of the invading army. From the History of Ver- 
mont, by Henry W. DePuy, the following facts may 
be gathered. At Hubbardton the advanced corps of 
the British army overtook the rear of the American 
army, on the 7th day of July, 1777. The larger part 
of this army had gone forward. All that was left of it 
was a part of Hale's, a part of Francis's, and a part of 
Warner's regiments. The enemy attacked them with 
superior numbers and the highest prospect of success, 
but our army opposed them with great spirit and vig- 
or. No officers or troops could have displayed more 
courage and firmness than ours displayed through the 
whole action. Large reinforcements of the enemy 
arriving, it became impossible to make effectual op- 
position. Francis fell in rallying his men for a fresh 
onset. Hale was captured with his regiment. " Sur- 
rounded on every side by the enemy, but calm and 
undaunted, Col. Warner fought his way through all 
1^ 



204 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

opposition." He brought ofl' the troops that were not 
captured with Hale, checked the enemy in their pur- 
suit, and, contrary to all expectation, arrived safely 
with his troops at Manchester. To the northward of 
that town the whole country was now deserted. Bur- 
goyne, with his disciplined army, was moving down 
through there, as Sherman moved, at a later day, in 
his march to the sea. But at Manchester, Warner 
determined to make a stand. And DePuy says, in 
conclusion, " Encouraged by his example and firmness, 
a body of the militia soon joined him, and he was once 
more in a situation to protect the inhabitants, harass 
the enemy, and break up the advanced parties." 

Col. Warner, in obedience to Gen. Schuyler's com- 
mand, scoured the country, up and down, west of the 
mountains, to gather up and bring to Bennington 
such property as the British might supply themselves 
with. Large droves of -cattle were thus brought in 
and sold, under the direction of the Council of Safety. 
What tories there were in that region escaped and 
joined the enemy. Through the whole of this un- 
pleasant business, just recited, the firmness and hu- 
manity of Warner were conspicuous. Only one per- 
son was killed by the scouts during the summer. 

Schuyler, who at first had contented himself with 
granting the Vermonters half a ton of powder, sent to 
Warner, a few weeks before the battle of Bennington, 
$4,000, and an order for whatever clothing could be 



SETH WARNER. 205 

procured at Albany. He also ordered all the troops 
from New Hampshire, which were then marching 
towards the camp, to miite with Warner. The corre- 
spondence between Stark and Warner at this point 
is voluminous and intensely interesting. 

About the first of August, 1777, Gen. Stark arrived 
at Manchester, on the New Hampshire Grants, with 
800 New Hampshire militia, on his way to the seat of 
war on th6 Hudson. The battle of Bennington, in 
which Stark deservedly won great renown, was fought 
the 16th day of August, 1777. Col. Warner rode with 
Stark to the field, and was with him through the whole 
engagement. Ex-Governor Hiland Hall, in his admi- 
rable history of Vermont, says, — 

" Warner's residence was at Bennington ; he was familiarly ac- 
quainted with every rod of ground in the neighborhood of the 
posts which had been occupied by Baum, and their approaches ; he 
was a colonel in the continental army, superior in rank to any offi- 
cer in the vicinitj' ; and he had already acquired a high reputa- 
tion for bravery and skill, — all which naturally made him the 
chief counsellor and assistant of Stark in his deadly struggle with, 
the enemy." 

Warner's efficiency was felt throughout the coming 
battle. In discovering the position and strength of 
the enemy, in arranging the disposition of the troops, 
in determining the time and point of attack, and in 
the execution of every design, his services were inval- 
uable. 

Warner's regiment was at Manchester on the 15th 



206 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

under command of Major Safford, who brought it up 
to participate in the second engagement on the 16th, 
and to save the day. 

This is not the place for a full description of that 
important battle, — a battle in which New Hampshire 
played a most prominent part. Bm^goyne, who had 
believed that "six hundred men could march from 
the Hudson to the Connecticut, subjugating all the 
intervening region, without any risk of loss," and who 
had boasted that his should be a triumphal march 
down through the country to the sea-board, found an 
impassable barrier at Bennington, His army of 1,500 
men, under Col. Baum, was routed and destroyed. 
Bauui was mortally wounded. Burgoyne hurried up 
Col. Breyman, in the afternoon, to reinforce Baum, 
but Warner's intrepid regiment came up in hot haste, 
swung into line on the double-quick at the opportune 
moment, and put Breyman and his force to flight. 
The day was ours. The field was ours, and the can- 
non, and the munitions, and the rum ; and certain 
historians have asserted that our army, the rest of 
that day, gave humble heed to 1 Timothy, 5:23. 

New Hampshire was proudly represented on that 
battle-field, for, in the first place. Gen. Stark, the hero 
of the day, was New Hampshire's favorite son; and in 
the second place, fully one half of his men were New 
Hampshire soldiers. Col. Moses Nichols, of Amherst ; 
Col. David Hobart, of Plymouth ; and Col. Thomas 



SETH WARNER. 207 

Stickney, of Concord, each with his regiment, was 
conspicuous in that engagement. 

Capt. Ebenezer Webster (the father of Daniel) was 
also in this battle. His company constituted a part of 
Col. Stickney's regiment, and he fought with distin- 
guished bravery. Stark, in speaking of Webster, said, 
" His face was so dark that gunpowder wouldn't 
black it." 

The town of Warner was well represented at Ben- 
nington. In Capt. Webster's company there were five 
of our men, viz., Paskey Pressey, sergeant, Robert 
Gould, Abner Watkins, Francis Davis, John Palmer. 

Asa Patney, who went into the service from Hop- 
kinton, but who, immediately after the war, became a 
permanent resident of Warner, was severely wounded 
in this battle. 

THE DAY BRIGHTENS. 

The Colonies had long been depressed by disaster 
and defeat, but the decisive victory at Bennington 
turned the tide of success, and brought light out of 
darkness. The American cause looked up. A change 
of officers took place at this time. Gates took com- 
mand of the army of the north. Arnold, who up to 
this period had been faithful, and whose career had 
been brilliant, was also with that army, as was the 
patriot of Poland, the accomplished Kosciusko. There 
was a grand uprising of the people through the whole 



208 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

country in consequence of this staggering blow to 
Burgoyne's army. Doubt and fear gave way to con- 
fidence and courage. The halting became bold, and 
the timid became aggressive. 

" Then Freedom sternly said, ' I shun 
No strife nor pang beneath the sun, 
When human rights are staked and won.' " 

Col. Warner at this time was but 34 years of age, 
yet the credit due to him for the triumphant result at 
Bennington is second only to that due to the general 
commanding. In reporting this battle to Major-Gen. 
Gates, Gen. Stark recognizes the solid merits of War- 
ner, and pays him this proud compliment : " Colonel 
Warner's superior skill in the action loas of extraor- 
dinary service to me." 

Soon after the battle of Bennington, Warner was 
promoted to the full rank of colonel by the Conti- 
nental Congress, but his active service did not long 
continue. He is reported sick at Hoosac, the latter 
part of August. The indefatigable exertions which 
he had made in the cause of right, " as God gave him 
to see the right," and the constant exposure and 
fatigue to which he had been subjected from his early 
manhood, undermined his constitution and hastened 
his death. Disease in an aggravated form struck its 
fangs into his system, and totally unfitted him for 
active service. His limbs became paralyzed, and he 
suffered intense pain. He did not, however, relin- 



SETH WARNER. 209 

quish the field at once. In a memorial to Congress 
in 1786, asking a pension for the family of Col. War- 
ner, and signed by Gov. Thomas Chittenden, Ethan 
Allen, Samuel Safford, Gideon Brownson, and seven 
others of the foremost men of Vermont, the following 
statement appears : 

''After the battle of Bennington, Col. Warner began sensibly 
to decline, so that there remained but little prospect of his future 
usefulness. He, however, grappled with his disorder, and contin- 
ued in the service at intervals, until, receiving a wound from an 
ambush of Indians near Fort George, in September, 1780 (at 
which time the only two of his officers that were with him fell 
dead at his side), he was obliged to retire from the service." 

In 1782, Col. Warner returned to Roxbury. Conn., 
his native town, in hopes of obtaining relief from the 
painful disorders under which he was suffering ; but 
his hopes proved fallacious. He gradually wasted 
away until the 26th of December, 1784, when an end 
was put to his sufferings. He was 41 years of age at 
the time of his death. He died poor ; but in October, 
1787, the legislature of Vermont generously granted 
to his heirs two thousand acres of land, in the north- 
west part of the county of Essex. 

One sketch of his short life closes with these words: 

" Col. Warner was buried with the honors of war, which were 
justly due his merits. The Rev. Thomas Canfield preached from 
the text, ' How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war 
perished.' An immense concourse of people attended his funeral, 
and the whole was performed with uncommon decency and affec- 
tion. He left an amiable consort and three children to mourn 
their irreparable loss." 



210 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

A modest white shaft marks the place of his rest, 
in tlie old cemetery of his kindred, at Roxbury. And 

Oh ! where can dust to dust 

Be consigned so well, 
As where Heaven its dews shall shed 
On the martyred patriot's bed, 
And the rocks shall raise their head 

Of his deeds to tell. 




OHAPTEE XVI. 

Warner's first meeting — town records — war-notes — the 
census — sage tea — the crisis at hand — convention op 
the people — governor wentworth. 

ARNER is now a body corporate, having a legal 
name. A new era in its history here com- 
mences. The public interests, which have been main- 
ly controlled by the proprietors, are now conducted 
by the town. Hereafter taxes are levied not simply 
upon lands, but upon all estates, both personal and 
real. Under the town organization every man is a 
man, whether rich or poor; every one is permitted to 
have a voice in the management of public affairs. 

The warrant for the first meeting of the legal town 
of Warner is in the words followins; : 

Province of ^ By power and authority Received from His 
New Hampshire ) Excellency, John Wentworth, Esq. these are 
to notify and warn the Freeholders and Inhabitants of the town 
of Warner to assemble and meet together on Tuesday ye fourth 
Day of October next insuing at the meeting house at ten of the 
clock in the forenoon To act as followeth — 

1 ly to chuse a moderator To Regulate said meeting 

2 ly to chuse a Town Clerk 

3 ly to chuse a constable 

4 ly to chuse Selectmen 



212 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

5 \y to chuse other Town officers as the law Directs 

6 Ij to see if the town will Except of the Kev. mn Wm Kelley 
for their minister and confirm all their former votes and Proceed- 
ings 

7 ly to see what method the town will come into for mending 
the highways in said town 

8 ly to see if the town will Build a Bridge over the River in 
said Town 

9 ly to see if the Town will get the Books that are wanting and 
consider what some or somes of money the town shall think Proper 
to be Raised to Defray the charges of the present year 

10 ly to act on any other Business the town shall think Proper 
to he done when met 

Dated Warner Sept, ye 17th day ) Prancis Davis, 

and in the year 1774. i By appointment. 

WARNER TOWN-MEETING. . 

Under the above warrant the town of Warner met 
for the first time. At the hour of ten, Francis Davis 
stood up in the majesty of the law^ and called the 
assemblage to order. Rev. Mr Kelley invoked the 
Divine blessing. The warrant was then read, and the 
town proceeded to business, a record of which is here 
given verbatim and in full : 

At A Meeting of the Freeholders and Inhabitants of this Town 
of Warner Legely Warned and held at their meeting House In 
said Town on tuesday the 4th Day of October 1774 at ten of the 
clock in the forenoon of which meeting Mr. Isaac Chase was 
Chosen moderator — 

Voted at Said meeting that Daniel Flanders Should be Town 
Clerk for the Present year — 

Voted at said meeting that mr. Stephen Edmunds Should be 
Constable for the present year — 

Voted at the same meeting that Capt. Daniel Flood should be 
the first Select man for the present year — 



WARNER TOWN-MEETING. 213 

Voted at said meeting that Lt. Jacob Waldron Should be the 
second Select man for the Present year — 

also voted that Mr. Isaac Chase Should be the third Select man 
the Pi'esent year — 

Voted at said meeting that Capt. Daniel Flood be a tything- 
man for said year — 

Voted at said meeting Capt. Francis Davis be a tythingman for 
said year — 

Voted at said meeting that mr. Daniel Annis, sen. Should be a 
Seveare of the highways for the Present year — 

Voted at the same meeting that mr. Isaac Waldron, sen. be a 
sevare of highway the Present 3'ear — 

also Voted at the same meeting that Deacon l^ehemiah Heath 
Should be the third seveare of highway the Present year — 

Voted at said meeting that abner Watkins Should be a seveare 
of Highway the Present year — 

Voted at same meeting that Daniel Currier should be a Fence 
Vewer for the said Present year — 

also Voted at said meeting that Isaac Waldron, Junior, should 
be Hogg Reaf for the present year — 

Voted at said meeting that Moses Clark should be Leather 
Sealler for the Present year — 

also voted that Mr. Daniel Annis should be Sealler of waits and 
measures for the present year — 

also voted that Paskey Pressey should be Field Driver for the 
present year — 

also voted at said meeting to Recieve the Rev. mr. Wm Kelley 
as the town's minister and Establish all the former votes and 
Records of said Inhabitants — 

also voted at said meeting that the highways should be cleared 
and mended the present j^ear — 

Voted at said meeting to build a Bridge over the River this 
fall- 
also voted that the Select men should procure a Book to keep 
the Records of the town and to record the Children and the mark 
of the Beast in 

also voted to Raise 24 pounds Lawful Money to repair highways 

also voted that men and oxen shall work at 2 shilling lawfull 
money per Day. 



214 HISTORY OF WARNEE. 

Thus closes the record of the first Warner town- 
meeting. It has no signature, but it stands in the 
hand-writing of Daniel Flanders, who that day was 
chosen the first clerk of the town. 

It thus appears that the persons who had the honor 
of being the first civil officers in the legal town of 
Warner were, — 

Isaac Chase, moderator. 
Daniel Flanders, town-clerk. 
Daniel Flood, ') 
Jacob Waldron, ^ Selectmen. 
Isaac Chase, ) 

These officers were well distributed over town, — 
Chase at the Stephen George place, Flanders at the 
Lower Village, about opposite the present blacksmith 
shop. Flood on Denney hill, and Waldron on the 
Gould road. These officers were elected for only the 
fraction of a year (five months), but the election was 
none the less important on that account. It was the 
first under the charter. It was the initial step in the 
new-born town. The election was held under author- 
ity, directly descended, of George the Third, by the 
Grace of God of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, 
King, Defender of the Faith, &c. It was held on a 
bright, autumnal day, in the little humble frame 
church at the Parade, which cost sixty dollars. The 
town was out in full force, the number of voters at 
that time being about 45, and the population of the 
town about 225. 



ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1775. 215 

There were no national parties then ; all were sub- 
ject to the Crown. There were no whigs or tories, no 
democrats or republicans, no slavery-propagandists or 
free-soilers. There were no local parties, — no prohi- 
bition or license party, no cranberry or hoop-pole par- 
ty. There were no caucuses, no rallying-committees, 
no vote-distributors. No pledges were made, to be 
broken, — no promises, to be forgotten. " Everything 
was lovely, and the goose hung high." 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1775. 

Daniel Flood, moderator. 
Daniel Flanders, town-clerk. 
Daniel Annis, sen., ^ 
Abner Watkins, > Selectmen. 
Joseph Sawyer, ) 

At this meeting a full complement of highway sur- 
veyors, hog-reeves, tythingmen, fence-viewers, field- 
drivers, sealers of 'leather and of weights and meas- 
ures, cullers of staves, and corders of wood, was chosen. 

" Voted that Ebenezer Eastman being chosen sevear of the 
highways should be Reconsidered and he not serA^e. 

"Voted at said meeting that Samuel Trumbull should be a 
seveare of the highways for the year Insuing." 

PALMER ONCE MORE. 

At an adjourned meeting, held May 2, 1775, the 
record says, " Capt. Daniel Flood stood moderator." 

" Voted at said meeting that all the rates of Mr. Jonathan 
Palmer for his own head for years past and for the Present year 
should be Blotted out of all Rates." 



216 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

WAR-NOTES. 

" At the same meeting, voted that the Selectmen should provide 
Powder, Lead, and flints for a Town Stock, and as many Fire- 
arms as should be found Wanting In Town." 

At a legally called meeting of the inhabitants of 
Warner, held at their meeting-house Aug. 3, 1775, 
Capt. Francis Davis, Capt. Daniel Flood, and Daniel 
Annis, sen., were chosen a committee of safety. 

THE CENSUS. 

The Provincial Congress or Convention, held at 
Exeter, issued, on the 25th of August, 1775, an order 
to the several towns and places in the province for 
taking a census, in which the inhabitants should be 
classified ; and also for taking an account of the num- 
ber of fire-arms, the quantity of powder, &c., in each 
town and place. In answer to tliis requisition, the 
authorities of Warner made the foUowina: return : 

Males under 16 years of Age, 78 

Males from 16 years of age to 50 not in the Armj', 45 

All males above 50 years of age, 6 

Persons gone in the army, 6 

All Females, " 126 

Negroes and Slaves for Life, 1 



262 



Guns in town fit for use, 21 
Guns wanting in Town, 26 
Powder in Town, none 

Warner, Sep. ye 9th, 1775 
Then the above named Daniel Annis one of the Selectmen for 



THE CENSUS. ^217 

the Town of Warner after being Duly cautioned made Solom oath 
To the Truth of the above account 
Before me Daniel Flanders 

Town Clerk. 

The reader will not infer from the above that War- 
ner once had a slave : she had not, though the state, 
at one time, had more than six hundred. " Negroes 
and Slaves " were put into one column. When Dan- 
iel Annis, senior, made the above return (but omitted 
to sign it), Warner had one colored man (not a 
slave). His name was Ichabod Twilight. 

From our neighboring town on the north came the 
following report : 

The exact account of the number of the Inhabitants of Perryes 
Town 

Males under 16 years of Age 39 

from 16 years of Age To 50 years of age 22 

from Fifty years of age and upwards 5 

gon in the army 4 

Females — two without any age 2 

Females 58 

Negroes and Slaves for life 



130 



Guns fit for use, 12 

Guns wanting for Town, 17 

Powder for Town, none 

Benj. Wodley 

Warner, Sept. ye 9th 1775 then the above named Benjamin 
Wodley aceseser for Perryes Town Personally appeared and after 
Being Duely Cautioned made Solom oath To the Truth of the 
above account Before me 

Daniel Flanders Town Clerk. 



218 . HISTORY OF WARNER. 

This Benjamin Wodley was the father of the late 
Judge Wadleigh, of Sutton. He Hved on the farm 
that Judge Wadleigh occupied after him through Ufe. 
Among his grand-children are Erastus and Gilbert 
Wadleigh. 

SAGE TEA. 

In the Bill of Indictment which Jeflferson drew 
with so strong a hand against the Crown of England, 
is the following article: '■'•For imposing 2\ixes on us with- 
out our consents But this hardly expresses the popu- 
lar feeling of that time. The people of the colonies 
did not object to taxation; they were ready for that. 
It was " taxation without representation" that inflamed 
their passions, and representation was sternly denied 
them. 

The ships of the East India Company, laden with 
tea, were arriving in the American ports. If the tea 
was landed, the duties must be paid. As early as 
December, 1774, three of these ships, which had been 
sent to Boston by this company, were boarded by a 
party of armed men disguised as Indians, and their 
cargoes were thrown into the dock. 

" As the Mohawks kinder thought, 
The Yankees had n't ought 
To drink that are teaP 

It was the exorbitant tax which the British govern- 
ment imposed upon this luxury that so enraged the 
colonists, "\yhen the report of this transaction reached 



THE CRISIS. 219 

the infant settlement of Warner, one resigned old 
lady said, — " Well, for my part, I 've never seen no 
China tea yet, and I 'm sure sage is good enough 
for me !" 

THE CRISIS AT HAND. 

This is not the history of the country, nor even of 
the state. It will not therefore be proper to set forth, 
to much extent here, matters of a general character. 
The causes of discontent in the colonies, the acts 
of the British government which hastened forward 
American independence, the measures adopted by the 
delegates from the several colonies in Congress assem- 
bled, — these are subjects that do not legitimately be- 
long to a local history like this. Nor is this the appro- 
priate place to speak in detail of the battles of the Rev- 
olution, of the strength of the armies, of the gallantry 
of commanders, or of the endurance of men. These 
things can only be mentioned incidentally here. It 
is the purpose of the author to make a just record of 
whatever the people of Warner have done ; and in 
order that such record may be made intelligible, brief 
allusions to general history become necessary. 

As the year 1775 is ushered in, it becomes evident 

that a rupture between the colonies and the mother 

country is at hand. On the 19th day of April, the 

skirmish at Lexington and the fight at Concord take 

place. The car of the Revolution is rumbling on. 

The provincial governor of New Hampshire, John 
15 



220 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Wentworth, labors zealously in his sphere to prevent 
the threatened rupture ; but the spell of royal influ- 
ence is broken. In an earnest message to the council 
and assembly of New Hampshire, May 5, 1775, Gov. 
Wentworth says, — 

" We cannot but view with inexpressible concern the alarming 
Pitch to which the unfortunate Dispute between Great Britain 
and her Colonies is daily advancing. Connected as we are with 
our Parent State by the Strongest Ties of Kindred, Religion, 
Duty and Interest, it is highly incumbent upon us, in this Time 
of General Disquietude to manifest our Loyalty and attachment 
to the best of Sovereigns, and our firm and unshaken Regard for 
the British Empire." 

But Gov. Wentworth entirely mistook the spirit of 
the times, and his fight was simply a fight against 
destiny. Separation was inevitable. 

CONVENTION OF THE PEOPLE. 

The assembly desired a short recess, that the mem- 
bers might consult with their constituents, and the 
governor adjourned them to the 12th of June. Be- 
fore that day a convention of the people had been 
called, and was in session at Exeter. (Reference has 
already been made to this convention.) The dele- 
gates had come freshly from their constituents, and 
the voice of the convention was regarded as the voice 
of the people. 

The assembly met at Portsmouth, pursuant to ad- 
journment, on the 12th of June. The governor made 
a renewed efibrt for conciliation, but it was entirely 



PROCLAMATION. 221 

unavailing. Some of his opponents were rash, and 
some of his adherents were very imprudent. A bit- 
ter feeHng grew up. Violence was threatened. The 
governor retired to Fort William and Mary, and his 
house was pillaged. He afterwards went on board 
the Scarborough, and sailed for Boston, having ad- 
journed the assembly to the 28th of September ; — but 
it met no more. In September, he issued from the 
Isles of Shoals the following 

PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas the General Assembly is now under adjournment to 
Thursday the 28th Instant, and it appearing to me no way con- 
ducive to His Majesty's service or the welfare of the Province, 
that the Assembly should meet on that day, but that it is expe- 
dient to prorogue them to a farther time, I have therefore thought 
fit to issue this Proclamation, proroguing the meeting of the Gen- 
eral Assembly to be held at Portsmouth on the 28th of Septem- 
ber, instant, to the 24th of April next, at ten o'clock in the fore- 
noon ; and the General Assembly is hereby prorogued accordinglj^ 
to that time, then to meet at the Court House in Portsmouth 
aforesaid. 

And hereof all persons concerned are to take notice and Gov- 
ern themselves accordingly. 

Given at Gosport, the 21st day of September, in the fifteenth 
year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord, George the Third, &c., 
and in the year of our Lord Christ, 1775. 

J' Wentworth. 

By His Excellency's Command, 
Theodore Atkinson, Sec'y. 

This was the closing act of Gov. Wentworth's ad- 
ministration. It was the last receding step of royalty. 
Henceforward the people bear rule, and the chief 



222 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

magistrate of the state, instead of coming with a com- 
mission from king or potentate, comes armed with the 
credentials of the popular will. 

Gov. Wentworth was born in Portsmouth in 1736. 
He was a son of Mark Hunking, and a nephew of Gov. 
Benning Wentworth. He graduated at Harvard ; en- 
gaged in mercantile business, with his father, in Ports- 
mouth ; visited England in 1760, and became ac- 
quainted with the king and others in authority. He 
was appointed governor of the province of New Hamp- 
shire on the resignation of his uncle in 1766. He was 
very popular in this oflftce for some years. He cleared 
and cultivated a fine farm on Smith's pond, in Wolfe- 
borough, to encourage the settlement of that region ; 
obtained a charter for Dartmouth college ; made 
grants of land, built bridges, cut roads, and fostered 
every enterprise for the benefit of the province. But 
the Revolution could not be stayed, and he gave way 
to it without dishonor. 

Though Gov. Wentworth never set foot on New 
Hampshire soil after issuing his proclamation from 
the Shoals, he continued in the country two years 
after hostilities commenced, expecting the subjugation 
of the colonies. He wrote to friends from Nantasket 
road, in March, 1776. He wrote from Halifax in 
April, '76 ; from Long Island, November, '76 ; from 
New York, January, '77 ; and again, in June of the 
same year. 



SIR JOHN WENTWORTH. 223 

He sailed for England in February, 1778, and made 
his home in London. After peace was declared, he 
removed to Nova Scotia, and entered upon the duties 
of the office of " Surveyor of the King's Woods," to 
which he had long before been appointed. In 1792 
he was appointed lieut. governor of Nova Scotia, and 
in 1795 was created a baronet. Sir John Wentworth 
continued in office till 1808, when he retired with an 
annual pension of £500. He died at Halifax, April 8, 
1820, aged 83. ■ ' 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE EXETER CONVENTION NOT A COLONY, BUT A STATE — FIRST 

REPRESENTATIVE — TOWN AND CLASS RECORDS. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1776. 

Isaac Chase, moderator. 
Daniel Flanders, town-clerk. 
Joseph Sawyer, ") 
^ Daniel Flanders, y Selectmen. 

Parmenas Watson, ) 

" Voted at said meeting that a man should work out their high- 
way Rate at 2 shilling lawful money a Day. 

" Voted to hire no school for said year. 

*' Also voted not to move the meeting house, nor Build a 
Bridge over the River against Where said meeting house now 
stands." 

THE EXETER CONVENTION. 

The reader is invited to turn back to the Exeter 
convention. The royal government and authority 
having disappeared from New Hampshire, the people 
proceeded to perfect, as far as possible, their pro- 
visional government. The convention, which had as- 
sembled at Exeter in May, was elected but for six 
months. Previous to its dissolution in November, pro- 
visions were made, in accordance with the recommend- 
ation of the congress of the colonies at Philadelphia, 



THE EXETER CONVENTION. 225 

for calling a new convention. Copies of these pro- 
visions were sent out to the several towns, and then 
the convention was dissolved. 

Many of the small towns and places in the colony 
felt unable to send delegates (the towns being obliged 
to pay such delegates for attendance). This call for 
delegates came to Warner. The inhabitants of the 
town were notified to meet the 4th day of December, 
1775, "to choose a delegate to a Convention to be 
held at Exeter, for the formation of a Constitution or 
form of government for the colony." 

Under this call a meeting was held, but no delegate 
was chosen. The record says, — 

" The Inhabitants of Warner met at their Meeting House, in 
order to choose a man to Represent the town in Congress in Exe- 
ter passed a vote in the negative not to send any." 

A convention, however, was chosen, consisting of 
seventy-six members. It assembled at Exeter, Dec. 
21, 1775. Matthew Thornton was made president of 
said convention. He was a physician, and his resi- 
dence was at Londonderry. He was one of the three 
New Hampshire men who subsequently became sign- 
ers of the Declaration of Independence. There were 
many able men besides Thornton in that body. It 
continued a convention or congress till January 5, 
1776 (sixteen days), and then, by leave of the Conti- 
nental Congress, resolved itself into a House of Repre- 
sentatives, or Assembly, for the colony of New Hamp- 



226 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

shire. It drew up a temporary form of government, 
adopted a constitution, appointed committees of safe- 
ty, and exercised all the functions of a government of 
a free people. This constitution provided for annual 
elections, and coordinate branches of government, 
each having a negative upon the other. The council 
was to consist of twelve members, any seven of whom 
were to be a quorum. The members of this branch 
were to elect their presiding officer, as the members 
of the house were to elect theirs. But this system 
had a material defect. It provided for no executive. 
The two houses assumed the executive duty during 
the session ; and they appointed a committee of safety, 
to sit in the recess. 

NOT A COLONY, BUT A STATE. 

This congress or convention of delegates from the 
people, having held several sessions at Exeter, having 
assumed the name of the House of Representatives, 
adopted a constitution, and chosen twelve persons to 
constitute a distinct and coordinate branch of the 
legislature by the name of the Council, took up the 
subject of the 

DECLARATION, 

on the 10th day of September, 1776. The record 

says,— 

The Declaration of the Representatives of the United States 
of America in Congress Assembled, July 4, 1776, for Indepen- 
dency Being read and Published in this House — 



FIRST REPRESENTATIVE. 227 

Voted and Resolved, That this Colony Assume and take upon 
themselves the Name and Style of the State of New Hampshire, 
and that all Commissions, writs, Processes, and all Law Proceed- 
ings which heretofore were made and issued in the Name and 
Style of the Colony of New Hampshire, shall henceforth be made 
and issued in the Name and Style of the State of New Hamp- 
shire, and not otherwise. 

Sent up by Samuel Dudley Esq. 

Concurred. 

FIRST REPRESENTATIVE. 

On the 18th day of September, 1776, this body, 
now the legislature of the state, took steps for a new 
election, the first under the state government, and the 
first after the people, through their representatives at 
Philadelphia, had declared their independence of the 
Crown. The legislature instructed the secretary to 
issue precepts to the several towns of the state for 
the choice of representatives, and prescribed their 
form. In the month of October the precepts were 
issued. Warner received hers, which was in the 
words following : 

State of New Hampshire. 

The Government and People of said State 

To the Selectmen of Warner in said State 

Greeting : 
You are hereby required to Notify the Legal Inhabitants pay- 
ing taxes in the town of Warner, giving them fifteen days notice, 
to mieet in some convenient place, in your town, to elect one per- 
son, (having a real Estate of the value of Two hundred pounds 
Lawful money in this State,) to Represent them in the Assembly 
to be held at Exeter on the third Wednesday in December, and 
to Empower such representative for the term of one year from 



228 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

their first meeting, to transact such Business and pursue such 
measures as they may Judge necessary for the ])ublic good. And 
the person who shall be elected, you are to Notify, that he attend 
at time and place above mentioned. And at said meeting Every 
Voter as aforesaid, on one paper is to bring in Votes for two 
Persons, being reputable Freeholders and Inhabitants within 
your County, having a Real Estate of Two hundred Pounds, to 

serve as members of the Council for the year ensuing. 

By order of the Council and Assembly. 

The town acted promptly, and its record here fol- 
lows : 

By order from the Council and assembly of the State of New 
Hampshire to us we Do hereby Notify and Warn all the free- 
holders and Inhabitants of this town of Warner that they assem- 
ble themselves and meet together at the meeting house in said 
Warner on Tuesday ye Nineteenth Day of November next at one 

of the clock in the afternoon, To Proceed as followeth. Viz 

lly to chuse a moderator to govern said meeting — 
2d to chuse one man as Representative for one year from the 

third Wednesday in December next — 
3d to chuse two men within this County to Sett as members of 
the Council for the aforesaid Term and to act on any other 
Business that may be thought Proper. 

Dated Warner October ye 29th day, 1776. 

Josejjh Sawyer % 

Daniel Flanders > Selectmen. 

Parmenas W^atson / 

Thus w^arned, the leo;al voters of Warner met in the 
humble church at the Parade, Nov. 19, 1776 : 

Chose Isaac Chase, Moderator. — 

Voted, at said meeting that Capt. Francis Davis should go as 
Representative for said Town for one year to Rej^resent said town 
in the assembly at Exeter. 

Voted at Same meeting for Joshua Bayley of Hopkinton and 
Jeremiah Page of Dunbarton for members of the Council. 



FIRST REPRESENTATIVE. 229 

There were seven sessions of the legislature this 
year for Mr. Davis to attend, — six at Exeter and one at 
Portsmouth. 

Although Warner was settled in 1762. and was a 
dutiful subject of the royal government for a dozen 
years, she never had a representative in the '• King's 
Assembly," nor any direct voice in the government 
of the Province. She had not risen to sufficient 
strength and importance for that, and perhaps she 
had no desire for it. But, events crowd on apace. 
Lexington and Concord have gone into history. The 
battle of Bunker Hill has been fought. The sons of 
Warner, with the other New Hampshire soldiers, un- 
der Stark and Reid, behind the rail fence, have stood 
the brunt of the British onset. The immortal Decla- 
ration has been proclaimed. The country is indepen- 
dent, and the state is no longer a colony. 

In this first legislative body chosen by the suffrages 
of a free people, Francis Davis appears the accredited 
representative from the town of Warner. It is a dis- 
tinction and an honor to be remembered with pride 
by his numerous descendants. 

Capt. Davis, at this time, was in the vigor of ma- 
ture manhood, being 53 years of age. He took his 
seat in the assembly at Exeter among the influential 
men of the state. John Langdon, of Portsmouth, was 
chosen speaker of the assembly, and Meshech Weare, 
of Hampton Falls, was president of the council. It 



230 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

was a legislature of rare ability, and the impress which 
it made upon the polity of the state will never be 
effaced. 

After this first election of representative, in which 
Warner stood alone, a class or representative district 
was formed, consisting of Warner, Perrystown, Fish- 
ersfield, and New Breton. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1777. 

Daniel Flood, moderator. 
Daniel Flanders, town-clerk. 
Daniel Flanders, ) 
Jacob Hoyt, >- Selectmen. 

Parmenas Watson, ) 

Voted at said meeting to raise Twelve Pounds lawful money 
to hire a school for the current year. 

They had but one school in town for several years. 
A recital of the other business which was transacted 
at this meeting would not interest the reader. 

Jacob Hoyt, the new selectman, was the individual 
who run the potash and the hotel at the Lower village. 

At a meeting held May 10, 1777, — 

Voted to give the two men we should hire to serve in the Con- 
tinental Army for three years, one hundred dollars each man this 
Day hired. 

They hired Philip Rowell and Aquila Davis that 

day. 

CLASSED TOWNS. 

In December, 1777, the inhabitants of Warner, 
Perrystown, Fishersfield, and New Breton, having 



TOWN AND CLASS EECORDS. 231 

been classed as a representative district, and having 
been previously warned, met at the house of Daniel 
Flood (on Denney's hill), and made choice of Daniel 
Morrill, of Warner, for representative for one year. 
Mr. Morrill served during two sessions, both at Exeter, 
one of seventeen and the other of thirty-one days. 

This was Deacon Daniel Morrill, who was one of 
the proprietors of the town, and whose residence be- 
fore coming to Warner was in Salisbury, Massachu- 
setts. He came to Warner about the year 1774, and 
settled on Pumpkin hill, on the first farm north of the 
Sally Bradley place. He had two sons, certainly, — 
Enoch and Richard, — who are yet well remembered by 
the people of Warner. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1778. 

Parinenas Watson, moderator. 
Daniel Flanders, town-clerk. 
Jacob Tucker, ^ 
Zebulon Morrill, v Selectmen. 
Thomas Annis, ) 

This board of selectmen is entirely new. Not 
much is known of Jacob Tucker, the chairman, ex- 
cept that he came from Amesbury, was in the Revo- 
lutionary army, and lived for a time, at least, on the 
present Harris land, on Tory Hill road. 

Zebulon Morrill came from Amesbury, also. He 
settled in Joppa, on the farm that Capt. Matthew D. 
Annis now occupies, and remained there through life. 



232 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

His son Samuel lived and died on the same farm. 
His other sons were Daniel, father of William K, and 
John, who lived on Burnt hill. 

Thomas Annis, the third selectman, has already 
been introduced to the reader as the son of Daniel 
Annis, senior, one of the first two settlers of Warner. 

REPRESENTATIVE. 

At a meeting of the freeholders and inhabitants of 
Warner, Perrystown, Fishersfield, and New Breton, 
held at the meeting-house in Warner, April 9, 1778, — 

Chose Ebenezer Keyzer of Perrystown, Moderator, — 
Voted, at said meeting that Capt. Daniel Flood should Go 
Representative for the above said towns, for one year. 

This Ebenezer Keyzer, who served as moderator at 
the little church on the Parade, was originally from 
Haverhill, Mass. He settled on the shore of the pond 
at North Sutton, which has always borne his name. 
His father, at the Duston massacre at Haverhill in 
1697, hid the girl, whom he afterwards married, under 
a pile of boards, and thus saved her life. 

Capt. Flood served as representative at three ses- 
sions of the legislature: one session commenced in. 
May, one in August, and one in October. They were 
all held at Exeter. It was the Revolutionary period, 
and the pressing wants of the army demanded un- 
usual legislation. The time for electing representa- 
tives was changed back to December from April, and 



TOWN AND CLASS RECORDS. 233 

another representative was chosen, December, 1778. 
The records show that the inhabitants of the classed 
towns met at the inn of Jacob Hoyt, in Warner, Dec. 
7, 1778, and after choosing Daniel Flood moderator, — 

" Voted that Thomas Rowell should be Representative for the 
above-said towns for the year insuing." 

The writer has been unable to gather much infor- 
mation in regard to this Thomas Rowell, except that 
he originally belonged in Amesburj, and was one of 
the proprietors of Warner. He is believed to be a 
brother to the great-grandfather of George S. and 
Charles P. Rowell. Mr. Rowell attended four sessions 
during his year, — all at Exeter. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1779. 

Daniel Flood, moderator. 
Daniel Flanders, town-clerk. 
David Bagley, \ 
William Ring, ^ Selectmen. 
Tappan Evans, ) 

Another entire new board of selectmen is here pre- 
sented. 

David Bagley was a son of Joshua Bagley, of Ames- 
bury. The two came to Warner together, and settled 
at Bagley's Bridge, where Joshua, son of David, lived 
and died. Lieut. David Bagley held the office of 
town-clerk thirty-nine years. He was undoubtedly a 
very worthy man, but his education did not fit him 



234 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

for a recording officer, and the records of the town 
are disfigured by many imperfections. 

VVilliam Ring was from Amesbury, and was a son 
of Jarvis Ring, one of the original proprietors. He 
settled at the North village, where Gideon D. Wheel- 
er resides. Abner R. and James G. Ring were his 
sons. 

Tappan Evans was from Salisbury, Mass. He set- 
tled on the Moses F. Colby farm, on the Pumpkin 
Hill road. He afterwards exchanged farms with Isaac 
Chase, and moved to the Stephen George place. His 
sons, whose homes were in Warner, were Capt. Nich- 
olas and Hon. Benjamin Evans. 

In December, 1779, the classed towns met, and 
elected Isaac Chase, of Warner, for representative. 
He attended, during his year, four sessions, — three at 
Exeter and one at Portsmouth. During his term of 
service, the valuation of the several towns was fixed 
for the apportionment of the public taxes. Chase 
thought they were getting the valuation of Warner 
too high, and in addressing the house he stated that 
Warner was a poor, hard town, and that the inhabi- 
tants had all they could do to keep soul and body to- 
gether. Upon this a member from the present Sulli- 
van county jumped up and said, " Mr. Speaker, the 
gentleman tells the truth. I've been in Warner, and 
its a God-forsaken spot!" Chase yelled out, "It's a 
lief" 



TOWN AND CLASS EECORDS. 235 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1780. 

Tappan Evans, moderator. 
Daniel Flanders, town-clerk. 
Parmenas Watson, \ 
Thomas Rowell, > Selectmen. 
Zebulon Morrill, ) 

At most of the meetings from 1776 to 1782, action 
was taken in regard to raising, paying, and supplying 
men for the Continental army. 

A meeting of the freeholders and inhabitants of 
Warner, Perrystown, Fishersfield, and New Breton, 
was held at the house of Jacob Hoyt, innholder in 
Warner, Dec. 12, 1780, and, after choosing Nathaniel 
Bean, moderator, — 

Voted that Capt. Tappan Evans should be the man to Eepre- 
sent the above said towns the ensuing year.- 

During his year, Mr. Evans attended five sessions 
of the legislature, all at Exeter. 

Nathaniel Bean was from Amesbury. He came to 
Warner about the year 1775, and settled on Pumpkin 
hill, where Capt. Joseph Jewell now resides. He died 
there, and was buried in the old cemeterv to the 
northward of the Timothy Davis place. Mr. Bean 
built the first mills that were erected at the great 
falls (Waterloo). The names of his sons and daugh- 
ters were as follows : Nathaniel, Daniel, John, Susanna, 
David, Anna, James, Richard, Dorothy, Molly, and 
Oilman. 
16 



236 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1781. 

Nehemiah Heath, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 
William Ring, \ 
Francis Davis, \ Selectmen. 
E/ichard Bartlett, ) 

Dea. Nehemiah Heath was from Hampstead. He 
settled in Warner, on the main road, at the place 
where John Tewkesbury now lives. His son, Dea. 
David Heath, followed him on the same farm. 

Richard Bartlett was from Amesbnry, a son of Sim- 
eon Bartlett, one of the proprietors of Warner. He 
settled on Burnt hill, where Stephen lived and died. 
He was a man of superior intellect and extensive 
reading. His sons were Stephen, Thomas H., and Col. 
Simeon. 



CHAPTEE XYIIl. 

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS — TOWN AND CLASS EECORDS — 
PRESIDENT OF THE STATE LOCATION OF MEETING-HOUSE. 

T a meeting of the freeholders and inhabitants of 
the town of Warner, held at the Parade, May 7, 
1781, Nathaniel Bean serving as moderator, — 

Voted, at said meeting to send one man to set in Convention 
at Concord, on the first Tuesday of June next, to form a system 
or Plan of Government for this State. 

Voted, at said meeting to give the man that should Be here 
after Chosen to set in Convention 4s 6d per day, new emission. 

Voted that Capt. Francis Davis Should Be the man for the 
above purpose. 

A brief history of the numerous constitutional con- 
ventions which were held in the early days of the 
state will not be out of place here. 

1. The first constitution of New Hampshire was 
adopted soon after the Revolution began, namely, 
Jan. 5, 1776. It was framed by the Exeter conven- 
tion. It was not designed or understood to be per- 
manent, but was to continue during the unnatural 
contest in which the country was then engaged. This 
is believed to be the^rs^ constitution adopted by any 
of the colonies. 



238 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

2. A convention was called for the " sole purpose of 
forming a permanent Plan or system for the future 
Government of the State," to meet at Concord, June 
10, 1778. (Neither in the first convention, ^lor in 
this, was Warner represented.) This convention of 
1778 formed a plan of government, and sent it out to 
the people. It was rejected. 

3. The same convention reassembled at Concord in 
June, 1779. Another constitution was agreed upon, 
and sent out to the people. This, also, was rejected. 
(Warner was not represented in this convention.) 

4. Another convention was called. It met at Con- 
cord, June, 1781. Francis Davis was in this conven- 
tion. It framed a constitution which provided for 
" a supreme Executive Magistrate, to be styled the 
Governor of the State of New Hampshire — whose 
title should be His Excellency." It provided for a 
senate of twelve members, to be elected by districts : 
"And the several Counties in this State, shall, until 
the General Court shall order otherwise, be districts 
for the election of Senators, and shall elect the follow- 
ing number, viz., Rockingham 5, Strafford 2, Hillsboro' 
2, Cheshire 2, and Grafton 1." 

A house of representatives was provided for, to 
consist of fifty members, apportioned to the counties 
as follows: Rockingham, 20; Straflbrd, 8; Hillsboro', 
10 ; Cheshire, 8 ; Grafton, 4. This constitution was 
sent out to the people, and rejected. 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS. 239 

5. The same convention reassembled at Concord in 
August, 1782, and made some changes in the preced- 
ing constitution, one of which was, to have representa- 
tives chosen by the towns, — such towns as had 150 
ratable polls, to have a representative ; smaller towns, 
to be classed. This was sent out, and rejected. 

6. The same convention reassembled at Concord, 
June, 1783; formed their constitution, sent it out, 
.and it was accepted by a vote of the people, October 
31, 1783. It was carried into full effect June 10, 
1784, and, with but slight amendments, was in force 
till 1878, a period of ninety-four years. 

At a meeting of the freeholders and inhabitants of 
Warner, Perrystown, Fishersfield, and Andover (New 
Breton no more), held at the meeting-house in War- 
ner, December 22, 1781, Francis Davis acting as 
moderator, — 

Voted tliat Nathaniel Bean of Warner shall represent the 
above said towns for the year ensuing. 

There were five sessions of the legislature during 
the year for which Mr. Bean was elected, three in 
Concord, one in Exeter, and one in Portsmouth. 

The record next says (its exact words being 
quoted), — 

The inhabitants and Freeholders of Warner held a meeting at 
the house of Jacob Hoyt in said town, January 16, 1782, to 
exemen and perruse the New Constitution or Plan of Government 
at which meeting Capt. Francis Davis was moderator voted that 
the meeting Be a jorned too Monday ye 21st Day of this instant 



240 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Januarj^ at 12 o'clock, on the Day two persons at said meeting 
accepted of the new Constitution or Plan of government in full 
as it now stands, 3 persons at said meeting Rejected the above 
plan in full. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1782. 

Tappan Evans, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 
Abner Watkins, \ 
Philip PlanderS; \ Selectmen. 
Thomas Annis, ) 

Voted at said meeting that the Selectmen should serve in theire 
office the present year free from any Cost to the town. 

This annual meeting, on account of some informal- 
ity, was pronounced illegal ; another was called and 
held at the meeting-house, July 11th, and the follow- 
ing officers were elected : 

Nathaniel Bean, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 
Parmenas Watson, \ 
Thomas Annis, \ Selectmen. 

Philip Flanders, ) 

At a meeting held November 26, 1782, at the meet- 
ing-house, Isaac Chase acting as moderator, — 

Voted to chuse a Committee to peruse the new plan of Gov- 
ernment and make theire Keport at the a Jornment of this meet- 
ing. 

Voted that Esqr. Sawyer, Capt. Davis, Capt. Flood, Daniel 
Morrill and Tappan Evans should be the above Committee. 

Voted at said meeting that those persons that Call themselves 
Baptis in this town should Be Rated theire proportion to Mr. 
Kelle3^'s sallery Rate this present yeav. 



TOWN AND CLASS RECORDS. 2-il 

It is evident from the foregoing that certain of the 
citizens of Warner had ah^eady become restive under 
the burdens of the " minister tax," and that they 
sought to escape it by claiming not to belong to the 
" established order." 

Voted at said meeting to pay Wm. Lowell nine pounds this 
present year to Be Reducted out of the obligation he has against 
the town that was given to his sons for Ingaging in the Conti- 
nental Army for this town. 

At the a Jornment of the meeting from the 26 day of Nov. 
1782 to the 10 Day of Dec. 1782, Isaac Chase Stood Moderator. 

Voted not to Receive the new plan of Government as it now 
stands. 

Voted to Receive the plan with some amendment and the meet- 
ing was Ree a Jorned to the 20th Day instant at the meeting 
house. 

Att the Ree a Jornment of the meetting from the 10th Day of 
Dec. to the 20th instant, of which meeting Isaac Chase was Mod- 
erator, 

Voted to chuse 3 men to Jone the above Committee in porusing 
the new plan of Government and to make objection against any 
part of said plan in writing. 

Voted that Wm. Ring, Nehemiah heath and paul thorndick be 
the men ; also voted Nathaniel Bean should Jine the above com- 
mittee. 

Voted that David Bagley should provid a book too Record 
Beaths of children. 

att the a Jornment of the meeting from the 20 Day of Decem- 
ber too the 26 Day Instant 1782, Nomber of voters present 32 — 
one voted to Recive the plan of Government in full as it now 
stands, 31 against it as it now stands — Nineteen Recived the ob- 
jections which the Committee Drafted against the plan of Gov- 
ernment — Eleven against the objections — twent}^ nine objected a 
Gainst a Governor and prevey Council and the meeting was Diss- 
mesed. 

The classed towns elected no representative in the 



242 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

year 1782. There is no evidence that the inhabitants 
were called together that year for the purpose of 
electing one. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1783. 

Isaac Chase, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 
Parmeiias Watson, \ 
David Bagley, > Selectmen. 

Tappan Evans, ) 

Att the a Jorntoent of the annual meeting from the 4th day of 
March, 1783, to ye 18th Day of this Instant march, voted that 
the Laws and Coarts of the State Should Stand in full force as 
theay now are untel the 10th Day of June 1784. 

Voted to chuse a Committee of three men to settle the law 
sute or Cary it on that is Commenced against the town by Mr. 
Nathaniel Been. 

Voted that Daniel Flood, Tappan Evans and Isaac Chase 
Should Be the above Committee. 

The presumption is, that the committee settled this 
" sute," for nothing more is heard from it. 

The classed towns met at the meeting-house in 
Warner, March, 1773, and elected Nathaniel Bean as 
representative. The time for holding this election, it 
will be seen, has again been changed. Mr. Bean at- 
tended at three sessions this year, all in Concord. 

THE CURRIER BRIDGE. 

At a meeting of the freeholders and inhabitants of 
Warner, held at the meeting-house, April 28, 1783, 
Tappan Evans acting as moderator, — 

Voted to Bild a Bridge over the River on the Road that leads 
from the Meeting House to Mr. Benjamin Currier's. 



TOWN AND CLASS. RECORDS. 243 

Who this Benjamin Currier was the writer knows 
not. The place referred to was the " Ensign Joseph 
Currier jDlace." This was the second bridge on the 
river at this point. 

Voted to raise 15 pounds Lawful money toward Bilding the 
Bridge above mentioned to Be worked out at 3 shilling per Day. 

Voted to allow Aquila Davis, Hubbart Carter and Amos 
Flood as much money as was stoped out of theire wages and was 
alowed to the town out of the state tax for the year past 1782 by 
the Treasurer of the State. 

Voted to allow Capt. Davis his account for setting on the 
Convention for times past which was one pound five shilling and 
8 pence. 

The convention that Capt. Davis had the honor of 
" setting on," was the constitutional convention which 
is spoken of on a former page. 

The legal voters of the town were warned by the 
selectmen to assemble at the meeting-house, Nov. 3, 
1783, to choose a moderator, and, among other things, 
" to see if the inhabitance of the town will vote to 
pertition the honorable General Court for a menment 
of our Incorporation with a New one according to 
Neals Bound ree." 

The meeting was held. Tappan Evans was chosen 
moderator, and then an adjournment was made to the 
10th day of the same month. 

At the a Jornment of the meeting voted Not to pertition for 
an amendment of our Incorporation. 



244 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1784. 

Tappan Evans, moderator. 
David Bagley, town- clerk. 
David Bagle}^, ^ 
E/ichard Straw, \ Selectmen. 
Zebulon Morrill, ) 

This is the first appearance of Richard Straw, but 
not the last. He was a prominent man in town for 
many years. He came from the neighboring town of 
Hopkinton, and settled in Schoodac, on the farm that 
his son Richard occupied through his life. He was a 
colonel in the state militia, was one of the selectmen 
of the town several years, was a " licensed taverner," 
and a good farmer. His sons were Richard, Jonathan, 
and James. He died in 1840, aged 85, and was 
buried at the Parade. 

At tlie same meeting voted not to Repaire the meeting house. 

Voted to raise one hundred and sixty j&ve pounds lawful 
money to pay William Lowell, Isaac Lowell and Stephen Colby's 
town bounties for service Down the town as Solders. 

Voted to chuse a Committee to Consist of five men to Settle 
with the Baptis for the settlement and sallery Rate for the year 
1782. 

Voted that the meeting Should be a Jornd too the 9th Day 
of this instant month. 

At the adjourned meeting, — 

Voted to Give in the Sallery Rate for the year 1782 too all 
those persons that Breaight theire sertificats too sertify that 
theay had Joined the Baptis Society. 

Voted to pertion to the General Coart for a new Incorpora- 
tion of our town according to McNeals Boundree. 



PRESIDENT OF THE STATE. 245 

At a second adjournment of this meeting, which 
took place the 30th of March, — 

Voted too Reconsider the vote past to cliuse a Committee to 
Settle with the Baptis. 

According to the foregoing it appears that there 
was dissatisfaction with the act of incorporation (the 
charter of the town). As chartered, the town was to 
be six miles square ; but the surveyors, acting under 
the proprietors, could find no open territory of just 
such dimensions, but they took an equivalent, and 
more too, and took it where they could. And what 
the discontented ones now wanted was, to have the 
terms of the charter so changed as to correspond with 
Neal's actual survey. 

PRESIDENT OF THE STATE. 

At a meeting of the freeholders and inhabitants of 
Warner, Perrystown, and Fishersfield (Andover has 
now joined New Chester), held at the meeting-house 
in Warner, March 30, 1784, Captain Daniel Flood 
acting as moderator, — 

Voted tliat Capt. Francis Davis should go Representative for 
the above mentioned towns. 

'Voted for President^ for 3Ieshech Weare, 12. 

The people of New Hampshire never voted for 
their chief magistrate till this election of 1784. The 
temporary constitution of 1776 provided for a coun- 
cil of twelve members, and a house of representatives 



246 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

to be elected by the people. These two branches of 
the government conducted the affairs of the state. 
That constitution remained in force till June, 1784, 
when the new constitution went into effect. This 
new constitution, among its many provisions, had the 
following : 

There shall be a supreme executive magistrate, who shall be 
styled, The President of the State of New Hampshire ; and 
whose title shall be, His Excellency. 

The president was to be chosen by the people. 

Warner cast but 12 votes at this election for chief 
magistrate of the state, — all for Meshech Weare. The 
vote was unaccountably small, as the population of 
the town at that time must have been 600, and the 
number of legal voters about 120. 

Capt. Francis Davis was chosen to office at this 
election for the last time. He served at two sessions 
of the legislature of 1784, — one at Concord in June, 
and one at Portsmouth in October. There was anoth- 
er session, held at Concord in February, which he did 
not attend. His work had been finished before that 
day. November 26, 1784, he was drowned in Beaver 
brook, at Derry. A storm had swollen the stream : 
the bridge, which at dark was perfectly safe, had been 
swept away before eight o'clock in the evening, and 
both horse and rider were plunged into the strong 
current and drowned. The body of Mr. Davis was 
carried far down the stream, and was not recovered 



SECOND PRESIDENT OP THE STATE. 247 

till three days after the accident. It was then brought 
to Warner, and committed to the earth near his cho- 
sen home at Davisville. His age was 61. 

At a legally warned meeting, which was held Nov. 
8, 1784, at the meeting-house in Warner, — 

Voted to chuse one man as a Defendant in behalf of the town 
against an action commenced against Daniel flood and Joseph 
Currier as a Committee in behalf of the town by Earned lowell of 
almsbury. 

Voted that tappan Evans shovild be a Defendant against the 
above action and is Impowered to Carry on the case. 

ANI^UAL MEETING, MARCH, 1785. 

Isaac Chase, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 
Isaac Chase, "^ 

Nehemiah Heath, V Selectmen. 
Paul Thorndike, J 

Paul Thorndike lived at the John Hardy place on 
Tory hill, but did not remain in town a great many 
years. 

At an adjourned meeting held April 12th, — 

Voted to except thomas Annis to serve constable for the cur- 
rent year for Jonathan Smith. 

Voted not to alow Gideon Davis and Joseph hunt Solder 
Rats for their heads for the year 1784. 

Voted to alow Zebulon morrill one pound ten shilling for his 
service as one of the Select men in the year past 1784. 

SECOND PRESIDENT OF THE STATE. 

At a meeting legally called, and holden at the 
meeting-house in Warner, March 29, 1785, to vote for 



248 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

president of the state, John Langdon received 24 votes. 
No other candidate was voted for. 

Warner, Sutton, and Fishersfield, in 1785, elected 
Matthew Harvey, of Sutton, representative. Mr. Har- 
vey went from Deerfield, and settled on the large 
farm at North Sutton which Jonathan Harvey came 
into possession of, and occupied through life. The 
sons of Matthew Harvey were Jonathan, who served 
in congress, Matthew, who served in congress and 
who was governor in 1830, John, Philip, and perhaps 
others. 

Mr. Harvey, during his year, served at three ses- 
sions of the legislature, — two at Portsmouth and one 
at Concord. 

At a meeting held October 11, 1785,— 

Voted that the Selectmen should settle with Mr. Tai3pan Evans 
on account of his Carrying on the law sute Commenced against 
the town by Barnet Lowell. 

Voted to Sell the howling of the Rev. Mr. Kelley's Sellary 
wood for the current year to the loest Bider. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1786. 

Isaac Chase, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 
David Bagley, \ 
Richard Straw, ^ Selectmen. 
Zebulon Morrill, ) 

Voted that Thomas Annis Constable Should not Collect the 
minister tax he has a Gainst those people that have Brought 
theire sertificates to sartify theay have Joined the Baptis Society 
and also those people Called Sheaker. 



SECOND PRESIDENT OP THE STATE. 249 

There were people in town at this time professing 
to be Shakers, a denomination which was introduced 
into this country in 1774. One or two of the follow- 
ers of this sect in Warner (and perhaps there were 
no others in town) lived on the Tory Hill road. One 
of the leading principles of this religious denomination 
is opposition to war. 

An adjourned meeting was held March 28, 1786, 
and of this meeting the record says, — 

Whereas Isaac Chase, Moderator of the above meeting Hesined 
his seat, Voted to Chuse another man as a moderator in his sted. 

Voted that Joseph Sawyer should he moderator of this meeting. 

Voted to Kais 18 pounds for Schooling for the Current year. 

Voted that the Sellect men Should Divid the School money 
into Districts. 



Vote for President. 




Jolm Sullivan, 


None. 


John Langdon, 


29 



Sullivan is here placed ^r.*?;, because he was elected, 
though Warner did not give him a single vote. This 
rule, of placing the successful candidate at the head 
will be adhered to throughout this volume. 

Voted the Select men with a sever Should preamble the County 
Eoad and make such alterations and exchanges as theay shall 
Judge Best. 

Warner, Sutton, and Fishersfield elected Zephaniah 
Clark, of Fishersfield, for representative, in the year 

1786. He attended three sessions during the year, 

one at Concord, one at Exeter, and one at Portsmouth. 
Total number of days, 76. 



250 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Mr. Clark kept a hotel, and carried on a large farm 
at what is known as the Chandler place, in Newbury. 
It is the place which our townsman, Jonathan H. 
Maxon, recently owned and occupied. 

At a meeting legally called, and held at the meet- 
ing-house, Sept. 29, 1786, James Flanders acting as 
moderator, — 

Voted to Bild a Bridge over the River on the County Eoad 
Where the old Bridge now is or as near that place as may be 
Thought Proper. 

Voted not to Bild a Meeting House. 

Voted to Reconsider the vote past not to Bild a meeting house. 

Voted too Bild a meeting house. 

Voted the meeting should Be a Jorned to the 19th day of Oct. 
next. 

At the adjourned meeting, — 

Voted not to raise money to build a bridge over the river. 

James Flanders, whose name appears above, was 
from Hawke, N. H. (Danville). He settled on Burnt 
Hill, between the Clough and Bartlett places, but no 
house now occupies the site of his buildings. It ap- 
pears, by public documents now in existence, that he. 
was both " farmer and cordwainer." He had a small, 
productive farm, which occupied his time in summer, 
and he made and mended shoes in winter. He was 
much in public life : was in the state senate nine or 
ten years, and in the house as many. While his edu- 
cation was scant, his judgment was sound, and for 
many years he was a leading man in the councils of 



TOWN AND CLASS RECORDS. 251 

the state. He was a ready and effective speaker, and 
his influence in the halls of legislation was large. His 
sons were Calvin, Abner, Ezra, Philip, and Timothy. 
Walter P. Flanders, of Milwaukee ; William W., of 
Wilmot; the present Philip, of Warner; Isaac C. 
Flanders, who lived many years in Manchester, but 
who has returned to Warner, — and many others, are 
his grandsons. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1787. 



Daniel Flood, moderator. 




David Bagley, town-clerk. 




James Flanders, \ 




Benjamin Sargent, V Selectmen. 


Chellis Foote, ) 




I^or President. 




John Sullivan, 


None. 


John Langdon, 


94 



Benjamin Sargent was from Amesbury. He settled 
on Tory hill, where a son of Abner Sargent now re- 
sides. His sons were Humphrey, Simeon, Asa, Isaac, 
Moses, and Benjamin. The latter occupied the old 
homestead through his life. 

Chellis Foote was also from Amesbury, and his 
home in Warner was at the Chellis F. Kimball place. 
He was the father of Kimball's wife. 

At a meeting of the inhabitants of Warner, Sutton, 
and Fishersfield, held at the meeting-house in War- 
ner, March 26, 1787, Capt. Daniel Flood acting as 

moderator, James Flanders was chosen representative. 
17 



252 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

LOCATION OF THE MEETING-HOUSE. 
At a meeting held August 30, 1787, — 

Voted to chuse a Committee of three men out of three Indifer- 
ent Towns to appoint a place where to Set a meeting house in 
this town. 

Chose Col. Joshua Bayley, of Hopkinton; Lieut. 
Phineas Bean, of Salisbury ; and Lieut. Moses Connor, 
of Henniker, for said committee. 

Voted to Set the meeting house when Bilt at the place where 
the Committee shall appoint. 

The old sixty-dollar church at the Parade, which 
answered very well for 1770, was considered hardly 
good enough for 1787. Besides, there was a growing 
uneasiness in regard to its location. 



OHAPTEE XIX. 

THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION — HALF-SHIRE TOWN — COURT* S COM- 
MITTEE COURT-HOUSE A PROTEST TOWN RECORDS HOUSE 

UNDER THE LEDGE. 

(he "Articles of Confederation," which served a 
good purpose through the struggle of the colo- 
nies for independence, were not sufficient for the 
country when the storm had passed. Soon after the 
close of the Revolution, the necessity of " a more per- 
fect union " began to be made apparent. The proper 
steps for a national convention having been taken by 
the congress, delegates from all the states excej)t 
Rhode Island assembled at Philadelphia, in May, 1787, 
to consider the question of the reorganization of the 
government. On the 17th day of the September fol- 
lowing, this convention of delegates agreed upon and 
reported a " federal constitution." This constitution 
was soon submitted to the several states, to be by 
them ratified or rejected. It was to go into effect 
when nine of the thirteen states had, by their conven- 
tions, approved of the same. 

At a legal meeting, held in Warner Jan. 24, 1788, 
Thomas Annis acting as moderator, — 

Voted not too Except of tlie new Constitution. 



254 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

This was the federal constitiition framed at Phila- 
delphia, and the voice of Warner seems to have been 
against it. The above vote is to be regarded as a 
vote oi instructions to the delegate to be chosen from 
Warner to sit in the convention which was to act on 
this constitution. 

The record continues : 

Voted to chuse a man to Joine a Convention at Exeter on the 
2d Wednesday in February next on account of the new Constitu- 
tion. 

Voted for Nathaniel Bean Esq. to Joine said Convention. 

Voted to a Jorn this meeting untel the town can be Sentered 
Relative to Setting a new meeting house. 

The meeting was then adjourned to the 7th day of 
February. 

The New Hampshire convention, called to consider 
the federal constitution, was held at Exeter on the 
2d Wednesday of February, 1788. It excited a deep 
interest, not only in New Hampshire, but throughout 
the country. It was composed of an a^ble body of 
men. Gen. John Sullivan was its president, and Hon. 
John Calfe its secretary. Langdon, Pickering, Bart- 
lett, John T. Gilman, Joshua Atherton, Parker, Bel- 
lows, West, Livermore, Badger, and other leading 
spirits, were there. The debates ran high. Sullivan, 
Langdon, Pickering, and Livermore were the princi- 
pal speakers in favor of ratification ; while Atherton 
of Amherst, Parker of Jaffrey, and others, violently 
opposed it. Among the things objected to with great 



THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 255 

vehemence in the constitution, was the clause per- 
mitting the abolition of the slave trade after 1808, 
and prohibiting any material action on the subject 
before that time. Mr. Atherton opposed this clause 
with much warmth. " The idea," he says, " that 
strikes those who oppose this clause, so disagreeably 
and forcibly, is, that if we ratify the constitution, we 
become consenters to and partakers in the sin and 
guilt of this abominable traffic in slaves, at least for a 
certain period, without any positive stipulation that it 
shall even then be brought to an end." 

The friends of the constitution did not dare risk a 
vote on the question of ratification. They pleaded for 
an adjournment; in the belief that further discussion 
among the people would work a favorable change in 
public opinion. The motion to adjourn prevailed. 

During the recess, the constitution continued to be 
the standing topic of discussion in town and neigh- 
borhood meetings, and it continually increased in 
strength. Some towns which had instructed their 
delegates to oppose ratification, " changed drag-ropes," 
and instructed them to favor it. 

Eight states had already given their assent to the 
constitution. The ninth only was necessary to its 
ratification. The adjourned meeting of the conven- 
tion was held at Concord in June. Amendments were 
proposed by those who were determined to defeat the 
constitution, but they were voted down. Then the 



256 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

opponents in their turn urged an adjournment, but 
this was defeated. The majority was clearly against 
them. Finally, on the fourth day of the session, the 
momentous question was taken. While the secretary 
was calling the roll of the members, a death-like 
silence prevailed. When he had finished, Gen. Sulli- 
van arose and announced, — 

Number of votes for ratification, 57 

Number of votes against ratification, 46 

— and New Hampshire ratifies the constitution of the United 

States. 

The result excited throughout the country a thrill 
of joy. At Portsmouth the event was celebrated by 
a grand procession, and other demonstrations of popu- 
lar gratification. 

Nathaniel Bean, in accordance with the instruc- 
tions which his constituents had given him, voted 
against ratification. 

At the adjourned meeting, Feb. 7th, — 

Voted not to Bild a meeting house on the plain above Joseph 
Currier's, and the meeting was dismissed. 

The Joseph Currier place is the present Richard S. 
Foster place, and "on the plain above Joseph Cur- 
rier's" means on the plain to the eastward, where the 
meeting-house was finally located. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1788. 

Joseph Sawyer, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 
Benjamin Sai'gent, \ 
Richard Bartlett, > Selectmen. 
Parmenas Watson, ) 





OLy 




HALF-SHIRE TOWN, 257 



For President, 




John Langdoii, 


11 


Josiali Bartlett, 


54 



The legal voters of the classed towns, — Warner, 
Sutton, and Fishersfield, — met at the meeting-house in 
Warner, March 27, 1788, and chose 

James Flanders, representative. 

HALF-SHIRE TOWN. 

At a legal meeting, held May 22, 1788, Capt. Asa 
Pattee was chosen to serve on the jury at Amherst. 

Voted to have a half shaire town in the northern part of the 
County. 

Voted not to Except of the Report of the Committee concerning 
the place Where to Set the meeting house. 

Voted not to Bild a Meeting House on the plain on the north 
side of the River against the new Bridge. 

The record continues : 

It was put to vote to See if the town would Bild a meeting 
house where the old one now Sets, 30 for that place 28 against it, 
So it past in the afarmetive. 

Motion was made to Set a meeting house in the Senter of the 
town 38 for the Senter 18 against it, so it past in the negitive. 

Voted to petition the General Coart for a Committee to ap- 
point a place Where to Set a meeting house in this town and 
the meeting was dismissed. 

Asa Pattee. The name of Pattee appears in the 
foregoing records of the meeting of May, 1788 The 
orthography of this name has undergone several 
changes. Petty, Pettee, Patty, and Pattee, all come 
from the same original word. 



258 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Sir William Pattee was physician to Cromwell and 
King Charles the Second. He was one of the found- 
ers of the Royal Society, and was knighted in 1660. 
He was a copious writer on political economy, and 
Macaulay mentions this fact in his History of Eng- 
land. 

Peter Pattee, a son of Sir William, was born in 
Lansdown, England, in 1648. In 1669, on account of 
certain political notions which he entertained, he 
found it necessary to take a hasty departure from his 
country. He went to Virginia. After remaining 
there a few years, he removed to Haverhill, Mass. In 
November, 1677, he took the oath of allegiance to the 
Crown. He married at Haverhill, and became the 
father of a large family. He built the first mill and 
established the first ferry in Haverhill, and the ferry 
retains his name to this day. 

Peter Pattee was the grandfather of Captain Asa, 
who is mentioned in the above record, who was born 
at Haverhill in 1732, and who came to Warner about 
the close of the Revolutionary war. He was captain 
in the old French and Indian war, and was present at 
the taking of Quebec in 1759. On coming to Warner 
he located where the village now is, and built the first 
frame house in that village, viz., the Dr. Eaton house. 
Here he kept a hotel a number of years. He was the 
father of John (who was the father of Asa, Jesse, and 
Cyrus), and of Daniel, who settled in Canaan, and 



court's committee. 259 

whose descendants are prominent people in Grafton 
county. Mrs. Daniel Bean and Mrs. Jacob Currier 
were his daughters. 

Asa Pattee, whose portrait is here seen, was the son 
of John, the grandson of Captain Asa, and the great, 
great, great grandson of Sir William. He was born 
at Warner, Oct. 14, 1800, and was educated at the 
district school on Tory Hill, and at the Ballard school 
in Hopkinton. He married, in 1827, Miss Sally Col- 
by, a daughter of Stephen Colby, one of the Revolu- 
tionary soldiers, and a prominent man a century ago. 

Mr. Pattee was a practical farmer through life, hav- 
ing one of the best farms in town. He served repeat- 
edly as selectman, and also as representative. He 
died Jan. 9, 1874, aged 74. His sons were Stephen 
C, John (deceased). Dr. Luther, and Dr. Asa F. His 
daughters were Mrs. Palmer (deceased) and Mrs. E. 
C. Cole. 

COURT'S COMMITTEE. 

State of New Hampshire. 
In the House of Representatives, June 17, 1788. 
Whereas Benjamin Sargent and Richard Bartlett, Selectmen 
of the town of Warner, in behalf of said town have petitioned the 
General Court, setting forth that, whereas the said town hath, for 
a long time, greatly suffered for want of a larger Meeting House, 
and are so unhappy as not to agree upon a place to build a new 
one, and praying said Court to take it under their wise considera- 
tion and appoint a Committee to appoint them a place to set said 
meeting house, or relieve them in some other reasonable way, 
therefore Be it Resolved that Col. Ebenezer Webster, Major Rob- 
ert Wallace and Lt. Joseph Wadley be a Committee to fix on a 



260 



HISTORY OF WARNER. 



spot in said town to build said meeting house on, the expense of 
which Committee to be defrayed by the inhabitants thereof. 

Thomas Bartlett, Speaker. 

John Langdon, President. 

The senate concurred with the house in the fore- 
going action, and the committee went upon their mis- 
sion. On the 12th of September, 1788, they reported 
as follows : 

The Committee having attended to the business referred to, 
and after viewing the greater part of the town, with the situation 
of the inhabitants thereof, agree to report, as their opinion that 
the spot of ground where the old Meeting House now stands is 
the most suitable place to set the new meeting house on. 

Eb. Webster, ^ 
Warner E. Wallace, > Committee. 

Sept. 12, 1788. J. Wadley, J 

Here, then, was a victory for the old Parade, — but 
let the reader pause, and see what becomes of this 
report. 

NOT PEACE, BUT A SWORD. 

At a meeting legally called, and holden Oct. 30, 
1788, to take this report into consideration, Joseph 
Sawyer acting as moderator, — 

Voted not to Bild a meeting house on the spot of Land that 
was a Greead upon by the Committee appointed by the General 
Court. 

So the tables were turned. But the friends of the 
old site were not satisfied. They claimed that in a 
full meeting they would have a majority, and they 
demanded another trial. The whole town was aroused. 



TOWN RECORDS. 261 

The selectmen called the legal voters together again 
at the meetmg-house, Nov. 25, 1788. After choosing 
Tappan Evans moderator, — 

Voted, at said meeting to Reconsider that vote past the 30th 
day of October, which was not to Bild a meeting house on the 
spot of Ground agreed upon by the Committee appointed by the 
Court. 

Voted at said meeting not to Bild a meeting house on the spot 
of ground agreed upon by the same Committee. [Thus the old 
site is again rejected.] 

Voted nat to appoint any place or places to Meet att for publick 
worship this winter, and the meeting was dissmissed. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1789. 

Tappan Evans, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 
Richard Bartlett, \ 
^ Richard Straw, > Selectmen. 

Tappan Evans, ) 

TOWN POUND. 

Voted not to Bild a pound the current year. 
Voted to Raise 30 pound for schooling for the current year, to 
be paid in produce at cash price. 

The selectmen were instructed to divide the town 
into districts for the accommodation of scholars. 

Voted that every district shall have the liberty to provide their 
own school-masters, provided theay Do it in a proper season of the 
year, if not the Selectmen is to provide a master for them. 

A meeting was held March 29, 1789, to vote for 
president of the state, with the following result : 

John Sullivan, None. 

Josiah Bartlett, 53 



262 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

At the same meeting, — 

Voted not to chuse a Representative for the present year. 

At a subsequent meeting, held April 25, the last 
vote was reconsidered, and James Flanders was cho- 
sen representative. 

At the same meeting, voted to build a meeting- 
house between Joseph Currier's and Isaac Chase's, 
on the north side of the road. Also, chose a build- 
ing committee, consisting of Joseph Sawyer, Tappan 
Evans, Richard Straw, Jacob Waldron, Benjamin Sar- 
gent, Reuben Kimball, and William Morrill. 

William Morrill was from Rye. He settled in the 
westerly part of Warner, between the Mink Hills and 
Bradford pond. After his day, the old homestead was 
occupied many years by Captain Stephen Hoyt. 
Samuel, Israel, and Francis were his sons, and Mrs. 
Watson, Mrs. Cheney, and Mrs. Hoyt, his daughters. 

At the same meeting, — 

Voted that the Committee should advertise the lower pew- 
ground in the meeting house above voted to Be Built and sell the 
same at publick vandue in behalf of the town. 

COURT-HOUSE. 
At the same meeting, — 

Voted for Doct. Currier, Esq. Bean and Mr. James flanders for 
Committee to Draw subscription papers and present them to the 
Inhabitance too see how much theay will sine towards Bilding a 
Coart house in this town. 



COURT-HOUSE. 263 

Warner was now making some effort to become 
the half-shire town of Hillsborough county, but Hop- 
kinton had more money and a much larger popula- 
tion than Warner at that time, and the courts went 
there. 

At an adjourned meeting, held at the • meeting- 
house, April 30, the meeting-house building commit- 
tee reported that they had agreed with Isaac Chase 
for half an acre of land on which to build, and had 
taken a deed for the same. Then the meeting ad- 
journed for two hours. This was to give the voters 
an opportunity to go over the river and take a view 
of the situation. 

The meeting, on reassembling, — 

Voted to chuse a committee too petition the General Coart in 
behalf of the town that our representative may have a seat for 
the present year. 

There had been some informality about the elec- 
tion of representative this year. In the first place, on 
the regular day for the election, the town " voted not 
to send." At a subsequent meeting that vote was re- 
considered, and James Flanders was elected. But it 
does not appear that the other towns of the district 
(Sutton and Fishersfield) participated in this election. 
Warner stood alone. Perhaps that was irregular, but 
this was the end of the class. 

The petition to the General Court was successful, 
and Mr. Flanders took his seat in the house. 



264 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

At the same meeting, a committee, consisting of 
Benjamin Sargent, Tappan Evans, and Richard Straw, 
was appointed to take charge of the building of the 
house, to hold the funds which might be realized, and 
to give security for the same. 

Voted to Impower the same Committee to sell the Bilding of 
the meeting house to him that Will Do the most towards Bilding 
the meeting house for what the pew ground is sold for if theay 
can Do it to the advantage of the town, if not for that Committee 
to proceed in Bilding the meeting house as far as the money that 
the pews sold for Will Goo. [Here is a chance for the reader to 
exercise his intellect.] 

A PROTEST. 

On the 19th day of June, 1789, certain citizens of 
the town made solemn protest against the building of 
the meeting-house near Joseph Currier's. Among 
other things in this protest they said, — 

We whose names are underwritten are and shall he dissatisfied 
with said house as a Meeting House for the town of Warner, and 
we shall give no aid to the building of the same, for the following 
reasons : — 

1. Because a Committee from the Court appointed another 
place. 

2. Because it will necessarily cost a large sum of money to 
make highways to said house to convene the people, which other- 
wise would not be wanted. 

3. Because we have the land to purchase, which, in another 
place, we have in plenty. 

Signed, 

Aquila Davis, Moses Stevens, 

Joseph Bartlett, Jedediah Peabody, 

Calvin Flanders, Benjamin Whitcomb, 



HOUSE UNDER THE LEDGE. 



Edmund Sawyer, 
Jonathan Smith, 
Moses Annis, 
John Hall, 
James Pressey, 
Nathan Davis, 
Wells Davis, 
David Gilmore, 
Moses Clement, 
barker Clement, 
Oliver Clement, 
William Morrill, 
Paskey Pressey, 
Daniel Watson, 
Zebulon Morrill, 
Moses Clark, 
Benjamin Foster, 
John Person, 
Stephen Badger, 
Jonathan Watson, 



Joseph Burnap, 
Asa Putney, 
Francis Davis, 
Joseph Foster, 
Jonathan Colby, 
John Davis, 
William Ring, 
Ezekiel Goodwin, 
William Currier, 
Isaac Waldron, Jr., 
Jacob Whitcomb, 
Thomas Annis, 
Francis Thurber, 
Moses Sawyer, 
William Lowell, 
John Kelley, 
William Sanborn, 
Jonathan Gould, 
Jonathan Straw, 
Moses Flanders. 



Here are the names of forty-six men, several of 
whom were leaders in town affairs, and most of whom 
stood high in the church. It was a formidable pro- 
test, and it shows, beyond a doubt, that intense feel- 
ing existed throughout the town on the question of 
changing the location of the meeting-house. 



HOUSE UNDER THE LEDGE. 

Notwithstanding this large array of names, the work 
of building went on. During the summer of 1789, 
the heavy hard-wood frame of the new church was 
raised, and the house was partially finished. It was 
called " The House under the Ledge." It was a 



266 HISTOEY OF WARNER. 

square building (about 50 by 60 feet), looking like a 
great barn, open up to the ridgepole. The swallows 
built their nests in it, and they were often seen, dur- 
ing religious services, flitting across the open space, 
like birds of evil omen. The house was never plas- 
tered, except on a small space back of the pulpit. 
Galleries ran around on three sides. The pews were 
square, like sheep-pens. The pulpit was so high that 
the necks of the congregation ached as they looked 
at the minister. There was a porch and great door 
at the south, there was another door opening on the 
west, and another on the east, like the gates of Jeru- 
salem. 

Such was the temple of worship in Warner, from 
and after 1790. It also served as a town-house. 
Town-meetings were held in it from the beginning, 
and for many years after it ceased to be occupied for 
religious purposes. About the year 1855 it was taken 
down, and the main part of the frame was worked 
into the bridge at Ela's mill. Having, probably, 
served its purpose in bearing invisible spirits over 
the dark stream that separates time from eternity, it 
becomes the strong bridge to bear visible feet across 
Warner river. 

THE WAR NOT ENDED. 

Eeturning to the records of the town, it will be seen 
that peace did not yet reign. At a meeting in the 



JOSEPH BARTLETT. 267 

old meeting-house, at the Parade, Nov. 19, 1789, 
Thomas Annis acting as moderator, — 

Voted not to meet in the new meeting house for Religious wor- 
ship for the futer. 

At another meeting, held the next month, — 

Voted that Mr. Kelley should not preach in the new meeting 
house, for the futer time. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1790. 

James Flanders, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 
William Ring, \ 
Joseph Bartlett, > Selectmen. 
Aquila Davis, ) 

Joseph Bartlett was from Amesburj. He was a 
son of Simeon Bartlett, one of the proprietors of the 
town, and Simeon was a brother to Dr. Josiah Bart- 
lett, of Kingston, one of the signers of the Declaration 
of Independence, and governor of the state. Four 
brothers, — Joseph, Richard, Simeon, and Levi, — came 
to Warner, and here made their homes. Levi became 
insane, and was consumed in a building that was de- 
stroyed by fire. Richard and Simeon are spoken of 
on a former page. Joseph was the father of our ven- 
erable townsman, Levi Bartlett. He lived at the 
Lower Village, near the Henry B. Chase j)lace, and 
was there engaged in trade. He also taught school 
and did something at farming. He was a man of 

marked character during his lifetime, and was consid- 

18 



268 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

erably in public business, serving as selectman, town- 
clerk, and representative. While he was a very cir- 
cumspect and excellent man, he did enjoy fun. At 
one time he was the only justice of the peace in 
town, and sometimes, particularly when the minister 
was away, he solemnized marriages as a magistrate. 
There was a man in town having the nickname of 
" Higharablecod ;" and there was a Widow Ash, whom 
the boys, for some reason, had nicknamed " The Wid- 
ow Ash-beetle." This couple, becoming enamored of 
each other, presented themselves to Squire Bartlett 
and were married ; but the match was evidently not 
"made in heaven." A few months' time proved that 
neither the man nor the woman had found an " affin- 
ity." In short, they were both sick of the bargain, 
and both desirous of throwing it up. The man, sup- 
posing that he who could build up could also tear 
down, and that the magistrate or minister who could 
marry a couple could also annul the marriage, rushed 
up to Bartlett one morning, in a great flurry, and 
said, " Squire, we 're going to be sot back ! and I 
want you to make out the papers!" Bartlett told 
him to come in again in an hour, and the papers 
would be ready. He came according to appointment, 
and the Squire handed him the following : 

Highamblecod got into a nettle, 

And swore he 'd not live 
With the widow Ash-beetle ; 



PRESIDENT OF THE STATE. 269 

And the widow Ash-beetle 

Swore by her god, 
She never would sleep with Highamblecod. 

Joseph Bartlett, Justice of the Peace. 

The man could neither read, write, nor cipher ; but 
he proudly seized this paper and departed. He met 
Calvin Flanders, and told him that Bartlett had given 
him a divorce, which he asked Flanders to read. 
Flanders read, and copied. 

Joseph Bartlett died in the year 1829, at the age 
of 70, and was buried near the site of the old first 
church. 

FOR PRESIDENT OF THE STATE. 

At a meeting legally called, and holden at the old 

meeting-house in Warner, March 30, 1790, Nathaniel 

Bean, moderator, voted as follows : 

For Josiah Bartlett, None. 

John Pickering, 28 

Nathaniel Peabody, 12 

Joshua Wentworth, 10 

At the same meeting, chose James Flanders repre- 
sentative. 

It will be seen that Josiah Bartlett received no 
vote in Warner at this election. But he was elected 
by a large majority. He was reelected in 1791, in 
1792, and again in 1793, when the title of the chief 
magistrate was changed from president to governor. 

At a meeting held in the old meeting-house, August 
30, 1790,— 



270 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Voted too Reconsider two former votes, viz, one was that the 
town voted not to meet in the new meeting house for publick 
worship, and the other was that Mr. Kelley should not preach in 
the new meeting house for the futer. 

Voted that Mr. Kelley should preach in the new meeting hovise 
for the futer and the Inhabitance meet there for public worship. 

So the friends of the site " under the ledge," near 
Ensign Joseph Currier's, are at last triumphant, and 
the old Parade, as a place of prayer and a place of 
strife, is forever abandoned. Peace only, and the 
silence of the grave, rest on that sacred spot. 



OHAPTEE XX. 

TOWN RECORDS — HALF-SHIRE AGAIN — ANTI-PEDOBAPTISTS — GEN. 
AQUILA DAVIS THE FIRST POUND. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1791. 

This was held at the new meeting-house. 

Nathaniel Bean, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 
Eichard Straw, \ 
Richard Bartlett, > Selectmen. 
Joseph Sawyer, ) 

I^or President. 
Josiah Bartlett, 79 

Voted not to choose a representative. 

Voted to Rais 25 pounds for the use of a school for the current 
year, to be paid Good Wheat at 5 shillings per hushell, Good Rie 
att 4 shillings per hushell, good Endion corn att 3 shillings per 
hushell. 

This meeting adjourned to March 22, when James 
Flanders was chosen representative. 

Voted to take down the old Meeting House and appropriate the 
stuff towards fencing the Buring Ground. 

Thus fell, at last, this ancient landmark of {he 
fathers. 



272 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

At a meeting held August 8, 1791, — 

Voted for James Flanders for a delegate to set in Convention 
to be held at Concord on the first Wed. of September next, for 
the purpose of revising the State Constitution. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1792. 

Daniel Mood, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 
Richard Straw, ^ 
Richard Bartlett, > Selectmen. 
Francis Ferrin, ) 

James Flanders, representative. 

For President. 
Josiah Bartlett, 54 

Francis Ferrin lived at the Jere Gove place, in Jop- 
pa. His son Benjamin occupied the old homestead 
through his lifetime, and the latter's son Jonathan 
lived there some years, then sold out and moved to 
Manchester. 

HALF-SHIRE AGAIN. 

At a meeting held Sept. 3, 1792, to take action con- 
cerning the amended state constitution, and for other 
purposes, there were present 21 voters. On the ques- 
tion of revising the constitution of the state, there 
were 2 affirmative and 14 negative votes, but not- 
withstanding this majority of 12 in Warner against 
revision, the constitution was revised, though but few 
changes were made. One of the changes made was 
in the title of the chief mao-istrate of the state. 



HALF-SHIRE AGAIN. 273 

At the same meeting, — 

Voted that our Representative should reject the Report of the 
Committee on fixing a place for a half shear in this County. 

The committee referred to was one which had been 
appointed by the legislature, and which had reported 
in favor of Hopkinton. Warner was dissatisfied with 
this report, but opposition to it availed nothing. In 
December, 1792, an act was passed by the legislature, 
and approved by Josiah Bartlett, president, removing 
one half of the terms of court for Hillsborough coun- 
ty, from Amherst to Hopkinton. One section of said 
act was in the words followins: : 

Sec. 4, And be it further enacted, that this Act, at the expira- 
tion of two years from the passing thereof, shall be null and void, 
unless a suitable House for holding said Courts be erected at said 
Hopkinton within that time, without being a County charge. 

Half of the courts of Hillsborough county were at 
once held in Hopkinton, in accordance with the pro- 
visions of this act. The inhabitants of that town, with 
commendable promptitude, erected a good and suffi- 
cient court-house, at their own expense, and from this 
time till the formation of Merrimack county, Hopkin- 
ton was a half-shire town. 

Not only have the walls of that court-house rung 
with the eloquence of Webster and other eminent 
" knights of . the green bag," but they have also 
echoed the voice of the \^\N-makers. — the represent- 
atives of the people. 



274 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

A session of the legislature was held there in June, 
1798, another in 1801, another in 1806, and anoth- 
er in 1807. 

John Taylor Oilman was twice inaugurated gov- 
ernor in that court-house, and John Langdon twice. 

After Merrimack county was formed, in 1823, and 
the courts were removed to Concord, the upper story 
of this building was converted into an academy, and 
the lower story was used as a town hall. 

Many a son and daughter of Warner, who had been 
educated at that old academy, felt a pang of sorrow 
on learning that the honored edifice had been swept 
away in 1875 by the devouring flames. 

ANTI-PEDOBAPTISTS. 

The religious affairs of the town became greatly- 
disturbed shortly after the year 1790. Indeed, they 
had always been sufficiently unsettled to remind even 
good men of the passage, " In the world, ye shall 
have tribulation." 

The records of the town set forth the formation of 
a second religious society, in the following terms : 

Warner february ye 28th, 1793. 
This may Certify tliat the pearsons hereafter named have man- 
ifested that theay are of the antipedo Baptis principle and are 
desirors to be received as members of said society in Warner, 
whose names are as follows : 

Timothy Clough, Ezekiel Flanders, 

Jonathan Stevens, William Morrill, 

Peter Bagley, John Gould, 

Hophni Flanders, Phineas Danforth, 



ANTI-PEDOBAPTISTS. 275 

Eeuben Kimball, Philip Walker, 

Caleb Jones, John Davis, 

Abraham Currier, James Pressey, 

William Currier, Asa Harriman, 

Stephen Badger, Moses Pressey, 

Enos Collins, Parker Clement, 

William Trumbull, Prancis Davis, 

Christopher Flanders, Ezekiel Morrill, 

Jonathan Wiggin, Jonathan Smith, 

Joseph Burnap, Simeon Straw, 

Charles Barnard, Asa Putney, 

Enoch Currier, John Colby, 

Ezra Waldron, Thomas Annis, 

Simeon Bartlett, Jonathan Colby, 

Benjamin Edmunds, William Sanborn, 

Joseph Maxfield, Jedediah Peabody, 

Jeremiah Kimball, Nathaniel Bean, Jr., 
Philip Goodwin. 

The above-named persons are received as members, and signed 
the Society articles by order of said Society to all whom it may 
Concern. 

Nathaniel Bean \ Committee for and 
Richard Bartlett > in behalf 

William Wiggin ) of said Society. 

This movement was one of considerable force. For- 
ty-six men, most of whom were heads of famihes, 
stood out and made this pubhc declaration. 

But what are Anti-pedobaptists ? Webster says, — 
" Pedobaptists are those who believe in the baptism 
of infants, and Anti-pedobaptists those who are op- 
posed to the baptism of infants." 

On this theological ground those people swarmed 
from the old hive and established another church. It 
would be uncharitable to doubt their sincerity ; but, 



276 HISTORY OF WAENER. 

in 1793 it was freely charged that the movement on 
the part of most of those engaged in it was entered 
into, not so much to maintain a principle, as to get 
divorced from the " standing order," and released from 
the burdensome " minister rates." 

They built a meeting-house in 1793, or the next 
year, at the Lower Village. It stood on the very 
ground now occupied, in part, by the engine-house. 
It was a square, two-story building, with but little 
architectural beauty, and was never only partially 
finished. No settled minister ever presided over this 
branch of the church. It enjoyed only occasional 
preaching, and that in the summer season. When a 
man who felt that he had a call to visit " the waste 
places of Zion" came this way, he occupied the pul- 
pit a Sunday or two. One of these itinerants, whose 
acquaintance with grammar was not very intimate, 
seeing no book in or about the desk, arose at the 
commencement of the service and inquired, '• Does 
the people of Warner keep a Bible ?" But no doubt 
the congregation generally enjoyed the services of 
such as were wortlij^ and well qualified. 

After a few years the society dwindled awa}^, and 
their house of worship went to ruin. It was sold at 
auction in 1825, and pulled down. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1793. 

Nathaniel Befln, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 



TOWN RECORDS. • 277 



For Governor. 



Josiah Bartlett, 43 

Timothy Walker, 33 



Nathaniel Bean, 

Richard Straw, >- Selectmen. 



James Flanders, representative. 

I 

Benjamin Sargent, ) 

The amended constitution now came into force, and 
the people for the first time cast their votes for govi- 
ernor. But voting was not regarded as a duty then 
so much as now. The whole vote of the state in 
1793 was but 9,854. Now, with a population not 
more than double what it then was, we cast nearly 
eighty thousand (80,000) votes in contested elections. 

At an adjourned meeting, held March 28th, — 

Voted to alow Cornet Richard Straw for providing for mis 
Weed in her late sickness and the Doctor's Bill £ s. d. 

which was 1 16 8 

At a legal meeting of the inhabitants of Warner, 
held August 7, 1793, at the TFe6-/ meeting-house (that 
is, the house under the ledge), — 

Voted that the meeting house for the futer should be used and 
Injoyed by every Religias Society in this town as much of the 
time as Each Society's proportion of town taxes are. 

Voted to chuse a Committee to porpotion the time. 

Voted to Bild the seats and put-up the pillars under the Gal- 
lery Beams in the meeting house. 

Voted to perches of the Baptis Society theire porpotion of the 
Ground that the meeting house stands on according to the sum 
that it was first purchased by the town. 



278 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1794. 

Tappan Evans, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

John Taylor Oilman, 8 

Timothy Walker, 54 

James Flanders, representative. 

Joseph Bartlett, \ 

John George, \ Selectmen. 

Edmimd Sawyer, ) 

John George moved into Warner from Hopkinton, 
and built the large house at the Lower Village in 
which Jonathan Badger now resides. It is the first 
house east of the Henry B. Chase buildings. The 
sons of Mr. George were Stephen, John, Daniel, and 
Joshua ; and his daughters were Mrs. Joshua Sawyer, 
Mrs. Dr. Ames, Mrs. Daniel Runels, and Mrs. Thomas 
H. Bartlett. 

After remaining at this place a number of years, 
he sold to John Eaton, and moved to Vermont. Mr. 
Eaton was from Haverhill, Mass. He first settled in 
Sutton, at what is now called the " Grange." He 
went from there to Davisville, from Davisville to the 
Lower Village, and from the Lower Village to Hatley, 
Canada East, where he died. His children were Fred- 
erick, Ruth K. (Mrs. Sherburne), Rebecca D., John, 
Sally (Mrs. Dresser), Hiram, Lucretia, Dr. Jacob, 
Charles, Lucien B., and Horace. 



GEN. AQUILA DAVIS. 279 

Edmund Sawyer was a son of Joseph, one of the 
early settlers, who lived near the Parade. Edmund 
lived on what is now known as the " old poor-farm." 
So far as the writer knows, his sons were Jacob, Rev. 
Daniel, and Edmund ; and his daughters were Mrs. 
Elliot C. Badger and Mrs. Stephen K. Hoyt. 

At an adjourned meeting, held June 9th, 1794, Gen. 
Aquila Davis was chosen representative. It had been 
ascertained that James Flanders was elected to the 
state senate. He therefore resigned the office of 
representative, and the town elected another man. 

Mr. Flanders had been a candidate, — that is, had 
been voted for, — for senator, by those who thought 
him the best man, for two or three years. They had 
no nominees, at that time, for whom the voters were 
compelled, by party discipline, to cast their ballots. 
Character, and not the caucus ; brains, and not bar- 
gains; merit, and not money, it is presumed, were 
chiefly relied on in those daj^s to secure public favor. 

Mr. Flanders was elected to the senate every year, 
beginning with 1794 and ending with 1803, except 
the year 1799, when Col. Henry Gerrish, of Bos- 
cawen, received the election. 

Aquila Davis, who now comes forward as repre- 
sentative, is entitled to special notice. The sons of 
Captain Francis Davis were Zebulon, Wells, Francis, 
Aquila, and Nathan. Aquila was born in Amesbury, 
Mass., June 27, 1760. He came to Warner with the 



280 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

family a tew years after the settlement of the town, 
which took place in 1762. At the age of 17, he is 
found in the Revolutionary army, having enlisted for 
three years. He saw much hard service during those 
years, on the Hudson river, in New Jersey, and else- 
w^here. Among other events which came under his 
own eye, was the surrender of Burgoyne. At the ex- 
piration of his term of enlistment he received the fol- 
lowing; discharg;e : 

Aquila Davis of the 3 N. H. Regiment, formerly an inhabitant 
of Ahnsbury in the County of Hillsboro' and State of New 
Hampshire, having faithfully and honorably served as a soldier 
in the service of the United States of America, the term of three 
years — it being the term of his enlistment, is discharged the ser- 
vice, and has liberty to return to his own home. 

D. Livermore, Captain, 
West Point Com'ding M N. H. Reg. 

May 10, 1780. 

After the Revolution, Aquila Davis took an active 
part in the state militia. He commanded the 30th 
regiment from 1799 to 1807. He was brigadier-gen- 
eral of the fourth brigade from 1807 to 1809. In 
1812, Gen. Davis raised the first regiment of N. H. 
volunteers, enlisted for one year, and was chosen and 
commissioned its colonel. A copy of his commission 
here follows : 

The President of the United States of America. 
To All Who Shall See These Presents, Greeting : 

Know Ye, That, reposing special trust and confidence in the 
patriotism, valor, fidelity and abilities of 
Aquila Davis 



GEN. AQUILA DAVIS, 281 

I have appointed him Colonel of Infantry of Volunteers in the 
service of the United States conformably to the provisions of the 
acts of Congress 

He is therefore, carefv;lly and diligently to discharge the duty 
of Col. of Infantry of Volunteers, by doing and performing all 
manner of things thereunto belonging, and he is to observe 
and obey the orders of the President of the United States, and 
of the officers set over him, according to the rules and discipline 
of war. 

And I do strictly charge and require all officers and soldiers 
under his command to be obedient to his orders. 

Given under my hand at Washington, this, 13th day of Janu- 
ary, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and 
thirteen, and in the 37th year of the Independence of the United 
States. 

James Madison. 

By Command 

of the 

President. 

W. Eustis. 

The law for raising volunteers having been repeal- 
ed by congress a few days after the foregoing com- 
mission was issued, the first regiment of New Hamp- 
shire volunteers was mostly transferred to the forty- 
fifth regiment United States infantry, and Col. Davis 
was commissioned its lieut. colonel. His services in 
the army were arduous, but faithfully performed. It 
is related of him, that, while stationed on an island in 
Lake Champlain, he mounted a battery of large guns, 
and kept the British at respectful distance from the 
island by this formidable contrivance, which, in real- 
ity, was nothing but an array of huge guns made 
from pine logs, and so painted as to deceive the eye 



282 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

at a little distance. That example was copied, over 
and over again, during the late war. 

Upon the return of peace, Gen. Davis retired to his 
mills at Davisville, and devoted most of his time to 
his usual vocation. He was a man of sound judgment 
and superior general abilities. He often represented 
the town in the legislature, but did not aspire to 
political distinction. He had a large family of sons 
and daughters, the names of the former being Paine, 
Theodore S., Nathaniel A., Nathan, Charles, Aquila, 
and James. He died Feb. 27, 1835, aged 74, while 
on a journey to Sharon, Maine, and was buried at 
Davisville, with Masonic honors, on the 3d of March. 

Gen. Davis enjoyed life, and was always noted for 
good humor and ready wit. One illustration of this, 
only, will be given. Some time between the years 
1815 and 1820, there was a brigade muster at Smith's 
Corner, in Salisbury. Rev. John Woods, of Warner, 
was chaplain of the day. Woods had a young, frisky 
horse, and after arriving at the muster-field the horse 
became quite unmanageable, in consequence of the 
bustle, the brass bands, and the glistening guns. Gen. 
Davis was there, as a looker-on, having his old war- 
horse, a beautiful animal, but as calm amidst the din 
and whirl of the muster-field as a summer's morning. 
The chaplain was to make his prayer on horseback, 
within a " hollow square " formed by the soldiers. 
Not daring to ride his own horse, Mr. Woods found 



TOWN EECORDS. 283 

Gen. Davis, and said to him, — " My horse is afraid of 
guns, and I wish you would let me take yours." "Oh ! 
yes, take him, take him," said the General ; " but if 
your horse is more afraid of guns than mine is of 
IJrayers^ I 'm mightily mistaken!" 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1795. 

Thomas Annis, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

John T. Gilman, 64 

Aquila Davis, representative. 

* Richard Straw, \ 

Benjamin Sargent, \ Selectmen. 
Joseph Bartlett, ) 

Voted that the Selectmen should put up post-guides in proper 
places, at the town's cost. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1796. 

Thomas Annis, moderator. 
Joseph Bartlett, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

John T. Gilman, 62 

Timothy Walker, 25 

Aquila Davis, representative. 

» Richard Straw, ^ 

Joseph Bartlett, \ Selectmen. 
Nathaniel Bean, J 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1797. 

Nathaniel Bean, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 
19 



284 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

For Governor. 

John T. Oilman, 10 

Timothy Walker, 65 

Aquila Davis, representative. 

Benjamin Sargent, \ 

Philip Flanders, Jr., \ Selectmen. 

Richard Straw, ) 

Philip Flanders, Jr., was a son of James, and the 
father of Philip, Isaac C, and of Mrs. Caleb Sargent, 
Mrs. David Sargent, Mrs. Reuben Clough, Mrs. Ezekiel 
G. Currier, Mrs. John Bean, Jr., Mrs. Mariner East- 
man, Mrs. William D. Trumbull, and Miss Hannah 
Flanders. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1798. 

Nathaniel Bean, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

John T. Gilman, 9 

Timothy Walker, 58 

Aquila Davis, representative. 

Richard Straw, '\ 

Benjamin Sargent, > Selectmen. 
Richard Bartlett, ) 

THE FIRST POUND. 

Voted to Bild a pound 30 feet squai-e and 7 feet high. 

Voted to Bild said pound on Dea. Heath's Land, between Jo- 
seph Currier's and his house. 

Voted that the pound should Be Bilt with Green White pine 
Logs with the Bark taken off. 



TOWN EECORDS. 285 

Voted that there shall be a Good and sufficient Door made in 
said pound with white oak well framed to Geather one post of the 
Door to be framed into the sile or Bottom Log with a Kound 
Gudgen and also into the Log over the Door. 

The building of this pound was sold at auction, to 
Tappan Evans, at ten dollars and a half. It stood a 
little east of John Tewkesbury's barn, nearly its width 
east of the ground which the Congregational church 
afterwards covered. 

A pound, in those days, was thought to be as indis- 
pensable as a tythingman. 

At a meeting, April 17, 1798, the report of a com- 
mittee which had been appointed to divide the town 
into school districts was accepted. Ten districts were 
created by this committee. That is about as many 
as there ever should have been ; but at one time the 
town could boast of twenty-four districts, such as they 
were. 

Voted to Chuse a Committee of three men to Draw a plan of 
each school-house to Be Bilt in each of the districts, and Joseph 
Bartlett, Nathaniel Bean and Aquila Davis was chosen. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1799. 

James Planders, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 
John T. Gilman, 30 

Timothy Walker, 30 

Joseph Bartlett, representative. 
Benjamin Sargent, \ 
John E. Kelley, K- Selectmen. 
Stephen Colby, ) 



286 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

John E. Kelley was a nephew of Rev. William Kel- 
ley, who brought him up. He was engaged consid- 
erably in trade. He lived at one time on the very 
spot where Levi Bartlett's present house stands, and 
had a store and house there, both under one roof. At 
another time he was in trade at the " Kelley stand," 
opposite the first pound. There, also, he kept a hotel, 
which on the 16th of January, 1828, was consumed 
by fire. 

Stephen Colby was a son of Elliot Colby, and a 
brother to John and Ezekiel. He was the father of 
Moses F. and Chase. During a part of his life he 
occupied the Moses F. Colby place. [See Military 
History.] 



OHAPTEE XXI. 

TOWN RECORDS — PAUPER SALE — HON, HENRY B. CHASE — FIRST 
SCHOOL COMMITTEE A NEW POUND — HON. BENJAMIN EVANS. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1788. 

James Flanders, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 

For Governor, 

John T. Gilman, 10 

Timothy Walker, 73 

Joseph Bartlett, representative. 

Richard Straw, \ 

Timothy Felton, >- Selectmen. 

Amos Gould, ) 

Timothy Felton was from Dan vers, Mass. He re- 
sided, the latter part of his life, certainly, a little 
above Ira P. Whittier's house, on the same side of the 
main road. Dr. John Hall had occupied the same 
house before him, but it was removed from that site 
many years ago. Mr. Felton was remarkable for ex- 
tensive reading and general information. 

Amos Gould was from Amesbury, — a brother to 
Robert and Jonathan. He lived between the old 
cemetery and Kimball's Corner, near the Elliot Colby 
place. 



288 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

PAUPER SALE. 

At a meeting held Sept. 15, 1800, — 

Voted to sell the keeping of Kuth Davis, wife of Joseph Davis, 
per week at the Lowest Bidder and the person that first takes her 
shall Remove her to the next person that shall take her on his 
own Cost and so on tel march meeting. 

Struck off to philip osgood the Keeping of mis Davis eight 
weeks at 5 shilling and eight pence, to Thomas Earned eight 
weeks at 5 shilling and 9 pence per week. 

Voted that the Selectmen Should make Serch and Inquire for 
the property of Joseph Davis and his wives and Secure the Same 
that it may be Kept for there support also to see if theay can get 
any help from her Children towards her support. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1801. 

James Flanders, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

John T. Oilman, 18 

Timothy Walker, 111 

Joseph Bartlett, representative. 

Daniel Whitman, \ 

Timothy Felton, \ Selectmen. 

John E. Kelley, ) 

Daniel Whitman was not a resident of Warner a 
great many years. He kept a hotel at the Dr. Eaton 
house, a short time after Captain Pattee went out. 
He removed to Virginia, there made his home, and 
there died. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1802. 

James Flanders, moderator 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 



TOWN RECORDS. 289 

For Governor. 
John Taylor Gilman, 42 

John Langdon, 113 

Aquila Davis, representative. 

Richard Straw, \ 
Nathaniel Bean, \ Selectmen. 
Jacob Collins, ) 

Jacob Collins was from South Hampton. He and 
his brother came into town at the same time. Enos 
settled first on Burnt Hill, and then on Bible Hill. He 
was the father of Moses, Enos, and John H. Jacob 
settled first at Waterloo. His house was between the 
mouth of Sutton Lane and Dolphus Bean's buildings. 
The main road lies over his old cellar. He had a 
blacksmith shop, which stood on ground afterwards 
occupied by Willaby and John P. Colby's shoe-shop. 
Mr. Collins moved from here up into what is now dis- 
trict No. 10. His sons were John, Levi, and Jacob. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1803. 

James Flanders, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

John Taylor Gilman, 50 

John Langdon, 111 

Aquila Davis, representative. 

Richard Straw, \ 

Richard Bartlett, >• Selectmen. 

Joseph Sargent, ) 

Voted to chuse a Committee of three men to Draw a Draft or 
plan of the Bridge to be Bilt acrost the river near the Baptis 
meeting house. 



290 HISTORY OP WARNER. 

Joseph Sargent was from Amesbury. He settled 
in Sclioodac, where two of his grandsons now reside. 
Caleb, Ambrose, David, Joseph, Zebulon, and Clark 
were his sons. He served as selectmen several times, 
and was a justice of the peace for many years. 

At a meeting held August 29, 1803, two jurymen 
were selected. The record is as follows : 

nicholas Evans Choosen moderator and David heath and Moses 
annis Jun. was Choosen to Serve as petit Jurors. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1804. 

James Flanders, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 



For Governor. 




John T. Gilman, 


70 


John Lanerdon, 


112 



Aquila Davis, representative. 

Benjamin Sargent, \ 

Jose^ih Sargent, >- Selectmen. 

Joseph Bartlett, ) 

Voted not to raise any money to hier preaching. 

Voted to raise 1000 dollars towards Bilding School-houses. 

Voted that Every District Shall have theire own perpotion of 
the 1000 Dollars towards Bilding school-houses in theire owns 
Di'strects according to the veluations for the town taxes. 

Voted that mr. peabody may have liberty to pole to mr. Gil- 
more's Distrect. 

The exact meaning; of the above lancruaoje does not 
appear ; but probably the intention of the vote was, 
to disannex Mr. Peabody from the Foster-Kimball dis- 
trict, to which he belonged, and annex him to the 



TOWN RECORDS. 291 

Gilmore-Bnrnap district. This '• mr. peabody" was 
Jedediah Peabody. He lived on the old Major Hoyt 
road, and near Henniker line. There is a large tract 
of land lying on that road, called the "Peabody pas- 
ture," having upon it chestnut trees of immense size. 
This lot was once the mowing, tillage, pasture, and 
woodland of Jedediah Peabody. Here he lived and 
prospered ; but the buildings have been gone, and the 
place given up as a farm, more than half a century. 

The Peabody children, to reach the Burnap school, 
must have travelled from two and a half to three 
miles. They were obliged to go, first, down across the 
Henniker line, then to make more than a right angle, 
and pass by the Jacob Whitcomb. Dea. Wiggin, and 
David Gilmore places, to the top of the school-house 
hill, where that institution of learning then stood which 
Mr. Peabody had the liberty " to pole to." 

At a legal meeting, held July 16, 1804, — 

Voted to chuse a committee of three men to Exemon and try 
Joliu 0. Ballard and Samuel Ballard wether theay are of an a 
Bilaty according to Law to support their farther. 

Voted to support major Ballard three months to lowest Bidder 
per week; the support of major Ballard Bid off by Daniel Bean 
at 68 cents per week. 

This Major Ballard lived on what is known as the 
"Ballard place" (now Dunbar's). He had been a man 
of standing and wealth, but had lost his property by 
a habit which has cursed its millions, and he was now 
a town charge. 



292 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

John 0. Ballard became the famous teacher at 
Hopkinton Lower Village, whom hundreds, who have 
been his favored scholars, yet remember. Before Mr. 
Ballard established his school at Hopkinton, he con- 
ducted a similar one a few years in Warner. The 
house in which he kept this school was between the 
Parade and Rev. Wm. Kelley's ; but no trace of even 
the foundations or cellar of that buildins; can now be 
found. Hezekiah Colby, the father of Chellis F„ 
Philip, Willaby, Samuel, and John P., on coming from 
Amesbury, lived in this house a year or two, and till 
he permanently settled on the Mark Colby farm. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1805. 

James Flanders, moderator. 
David liagley, town-clerk. 

JF'or Governor. 

John Langdon, 141 

John T. Gilman, 54 

Aquila Davis, representative. 

William Ring, \ 

Richard Bartlett, > Selectmen. 

Moses Annis, ) 

Voted to raise 150 dollars to hier preaching the Ensuing year. 

Voted not to raise any money to finish the meeting-hovise. 

Voted to Give major Straw's School Distrect Liberty to Bild 
their school house on a nother spoot of Ground that the town's 
Committee Did not appoint whear theay can be beter Convened. 

Voted that Each society in this town Should have theire por- 
potion of the 150 dollars voted to be raised to hier preaching, to 
hier such ministers as Shall be most agreeable to them. 



TOWN EECORDS. 293 

Moses Annis, who comes forward here as one of the 
selectmen, is not the son, but the grandson of Daniel 
the first. The first Moses died before 1790, and left 
no descendants. This Moses was a son of Thomas, 
and the father of the present Moses G. Annis. The 
first Moses lived on the Gould Annis farm till his 
death, and then the second took possession. 

At a legal meeting, held Oct. 3, 1805, — 

Nathaniel flood was Choosen to finish the collection of the 
taxes committed to his farther Daniel flood, Deceased, which he 
Did not collect. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1806 

Thomas Annis, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

John Langdon, 124 

Timothy Farrar, ' 29 

James Flanders, representative. 

Richard Straw, \ 

Joseph Bartlett, \ Selectmen. 

David Heath, ) 

At a legally called meeting, held April 16, 1806, 
Henry B. Chase acting as moderator, — 

Voted that the Selectmen Shonld Esertain and collect to Geath- 
er all the household f urneture Cloathing &c. belonging to the wife 
of Joseph Davis late of Warner desseced — and sell the same in 
that Way and manner as theay Shall Judge will be mose advan- 
tage to the town's use. 

Voted to give a bounty of 20 cents to any pearson or pearsons 



294 HISTORY OF WAKNER. 

living in the town of Warner that Shall Kill a crow within the 
bonds of said town and Bring the Same to the Selectmen from 
this time to the first Day of July next. 

Henry B. Chase was born in Cornish, N. H. He 
came from there to Warner in 1805, and opened a 
law office in the Lower Village. He married a daugh- 
ter of Nathaniel Bean. He was the first postmaster 
in Warner, his appointment being dated 1813. He 
was also the first register of probate for Merrimack 
county ; was appointed in 1823, and released from the 
office in 1840. He served repeatedly as representa- 
tive in the legislature of the state, and was speaker of 
the house in 1817. 

There was a scheme in the early part of the cen- 
tury for connecting the waters of the Merrimack and 
Connecticut rivers by means of a canal. This canal 
was to pass up through Warner to Sunapee lake, and 
thence onward to the Connecticut river at Claremont. 
During the year 1816 a committee of the Massachu- 
setts legislature, with which Henry B. Chase was as- 
sociated by the legislature of New Hampshire, made 
a thorough survey of the contemplated route. The 
lake was found to be more than 800 feet above the 
level of the two rivers, and the enterprise was aban- 
doned as wholly impracticable. 

Mr. Chase was a man of fine presence, a sound law- 
yer, and an upright citizen. He died January, 1854, 
aged 77, leaving one son, a lawyer in Louisiana, and 



TOWN RECOEDS. 295 

three daughters, — Mrs. Grimes, Miss Nancy Chase, 
and Mrs. Otis Brewer, of Boston. 

LICENSES. 

Warner, May ye 3d, 1806. 

this may Certify that we appoint Ezra flanders as a Retailer 
of Speriatous Lequars by the Glass or Gill at his store or house in 
Warner for the year 1806. 

Richard straw, 



-Tk -J 1 ii ( Selectmen. 
David heath, 

From four to six Hcenses of this character were 
granted to as many different persons each year. It 
was a period of dissipation, from the year 1800, or be- 
fore that, to about 1830. The Hcensed places were 
not confined to the villages, but were distributed over 
town, and they afforded excellent opportunities for 
neighborhood idleness and wrangling. 

Ezra Flanders was a son of James. His " store or 
house" was both store and house, being the ancient 
yellow building in the Lower Village, between the 
site of the Anti-pedobabtist church and the old Hen- 
niker road. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1807. 

Thomas Annis, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 
John Langdon, 97 

James Flanders, representative. 
Richard Straw, \ 
David Heath, \ Selectmen. 
Moses Annis, ) 



296 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Voted to Raise 500 dollars to support schools. 

Voted not to raise any money to hier preaching. 

Voted not to raise any money to finish the meeting hotise. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1808. 

Thomas Annis, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

John Langdon, 83 

Richard Bartlett, representative. 

Richard Straw, ^ 

Joseph B. Hoyt, > Selectmen. 

Moses Annis, ) 

Voted to Choose assessors to asest the Selectmen in making 
and porportioning the Inventary the present year. 

Voted to raise 200 dollars towards finishing the meeting house. 

FIRST SUPERINTENDING COMMITTEE. 

Voted to Choes a Committee to Enspect and Examon the 
School masters that may be hiered to teach Schools in this town 
the Ensuing year wether theay are Qualified as the Law Directs. 

Henry B. Chase, William Ring, and Abner Flanders 
were chosen for said committee. 

Joseph B. Hoyt, who appears here as one of the 
selectmen, was from Kensington. He settled in the 
south part of the town, and erected his first buildings 
on the hill, up easterly a half mile from the present 
house. His best tillage land was there, but he had 
no road, and never could have had one at that place. 
After a residence of a few years on the hill, he came 
down to the Henniker road, and rebuilt there. He 



TOWN RECORDS. 297 

became a major in the state militia, as did two of his 
sons, — Joseph S. and Stephen K. Capt. John Hoyt, 
who died young, was another of his sons. Stephen 
K. occupied the old homestead a great many years, 
but he is now residing in Portland, Me. 

At a meeting legally called, and holden Feb. 11, 
1809,— 

Voted not to concur with the church in calling William Harlow 
to settle as a Gospel minister in this town. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1809. 

Richard Bartlett, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Jeremiah Smith, QQ 

John Langdon, 140 

Richard Bartlett, representative. 

Benjamin Evans, \ 

Joseph Bartlett, > Selectmen. 

Moses Annis, ) 

Voted to Bild a pound with stone, with a Large pece of hewed 
timber all round on the top. 

Edmund Sawyer bid off the building of the pound 
at thirty-seven dollars, and did the job in April, 1809. 
That pound now stands, it being in Warner village, 
on the north side of Pumpkin Hill road. 

Benjamin Evans, a son of Tappan Evans, was born 
at Newbury port in 1772, but was brought to Warner 
with the family before 1780. His mother was called 



298 HISTOKY OF WARNER. 

" the handsomest woman in Newburyport," and the 
son was a man of striking personal appearance. 

The writer has been unable to gather many facts 
in relation to the early life of this noted man. His ed- 
ucation was limited, but having commanding natural 
abilities, he wielded a large influence in Warner, and 
in the state for many years. He married a Miss Wad- 
leigh (an aunt of the late Judge Wadleigh, of Sutton), 
and commenced life at Roby's Corner. There he had a 
farm and a saw-mill, the mill being a few rods below 
the present river bridge. In 1803 he went into mer- 
cantile business at South Sutton, and at once became 
a prominent and influential man there. Though he 
remained at Sutton but four years, he served several 
times as moderator at town meetings, and several 
times as selectman. In 1807 he returned to Warner, 
and made his home from that time through life at the 
village. He was the leading business man in town 
for a long period of time. Besides carrying on his 
country store, he dealt largely in cattle and hides, 
and was extensively engaged in coopering. He lived 
some twenty-five or thirty years in what is now 
known as the Bates house, and the remainder of his 
life at the Porter house. He was a soldier in the war 
of 1812. He knew every man in town, and could 
readily call each one by name. He served as mod- 
erator of town meetings, as selectman, and as repre- 
sentative to the General Court a great many years. 




/-y^^r^^:^ Z<Zy-c?4-y^-:^</ 



BENJAMIN EVANS. 299 

/ 

He was elected senator in old district No. 8 in 1830, 
and was in the governor's council in 1836 and 1837. 
He was appointed sheriff of Merrimack county in 
1838, and he held this, his last office, till 1843, the 
year before his decease. 

He had six daughters, but no son who lived to ma- 
ture age. One of his daughters married Reuben 
Porter; another, Nathan S. Colby; another. Dr. Leon- 
ard Eaton ; another, Stephen C. Badger ; another, H. 
D. Robertson ; and the last, Abner Woodman. 

Mr. Evans died November 12, 1844, at the age of 
72 years, and his dust sleeps on a beautiful table-land 
in Pine Grove Cemetery. 

20 • 



OHAPTEE XXII. 

TOWN EECORDS THE COLD FRIDAY WAR OF 1812 — REV. JOHN 

WOODS — A COLD SEASON — MASONIC — DIVORCE OP CHURCH 
AND STATE HERESY QUAKER WOMEN WHIPPED. 

(he "cold Friday," which aged people remember 
with a shudder, occnrred January 19, 1810. 
The mercury runs lower every winter than it run 
that day ; but the out-door man, in this country, has 
never seen weather more severe than that. On that 
day a harsh, violent wind prevailed from morning till 
night, and many buildings were destroyed by it. The 
cold Friday was known and is remembered through- 
out the New England states. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1810. 

James Flanders, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

John Langdon, 181 

Jeremiah Smith, 37 

Richard Bartlett, representative. 

Daniel Bean, "^ 

Moses Annis, V Selectmen. 
David Heath, J 



TOWN RECORDS. 301 

Daniel Bean was a son of Nathaniel. He lived at 
Waterloo, and was largely engaged throngh life in 
running mills at the great falls, and in agricultural 
pursuits. He also kept tavern in the very house now 
occupied by Dolphus Bean, from 1804 to 1829. His 
first wife was a daughter of Capt. Asa Pattee, and his 
second, a Miss Sibley, of Hopkinton. His sons were 
Daniel, Jr., William H., Stephen S., and Dolphus S. ; 
and his daughters were Mrs. Andrews, Mrs. Kimball, 
Mrs. Dr. Eaton, of Bristol, Mrs. Nathan Martin, Mrs. 
A. G. Haines, and Mrs. N. G. Ordway. Mr. Bean died 
in April, 1855, aged 81. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1811. 

Richard Bartlett, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Jolin Langdon, 192 

Jeremiali Smitli, 46 

Richard Bartlett, representative. 

David Heath, \ 

Daniel Bean, \ Selectmen. ^ 

Moses Annis, ) 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1812. 

Richard Bartlett, moderator. 
David Heath, town-clerk. 



For Governor. 




William Plumer, 


150 


John T. Gilman, 


73 



302 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Benjamin Evans, representative. 

Jacob Collins, '\ 

David Heath, v Selectmen. 

Richard Straw, ) 

The town records are now kept very accurately. 
Dea. Heath is a fair penman and a good scholar. 

WAR OF 1812. 

The inhabitants of the town of Warner met accord- 
ing to warning, August 24, 1812, chose Richard Bart- 
lett, moderator, and took action as follows : 

Whereas by an act of Congress of the United States passed 
April 10, 1812, it is among other things declared that the Presi- 
dent of the United States be authorized to require of the Execu- 
tives of the several States and Territories to take effectual meas- 
ures to organize and equip according to law and hold in readiness 
to march at a moment's warning their respective proportions of 
100,000 Militia, it is also declared that said detached militia shall 
not be compelled to serve a longer time than six months after 
they arrive to the place of rendezvous — 

Therefore Voted that the town of Warner pay or cause to be 
paid to the non-commissioned officers and privates belonging to 
said town who are liable by said Act of Congress to be called 
upon, the sum of five dollars for each and every month they shall 
actually be in the service of the United States, according to said 
Act, and the sum of two dollars when ordered to march. 

The two dollars for pocket-money, and the five 
dollars per month in addition to the regular govern- 
ment pay of the soldier, was a very handsome bounty. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1813. 

James Flanders, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 



TOWN RECORDS. 303 

For Governor. 

John Taylor Gilman, 81 

William Plumer, 199 

Richard Bartlett, representative. 

Jacob Collins, \ 

Henry B. Chase, \ Selectmen. 

Abner Flanders, ) 

Voted that Nathaniel Bean pole off to the north Village School 
District for the futer. 

Voted that the Selectmen Should Converse with ejohn O. Bal- 
lard concerning the Support of his farther for the futer and See 
if it is not his Right by Law to Support him. 

Abner Flanders, one of the selectmen, was another 
of the sons of James. He removed to Vermont when 
quite a joung man, and there settled. He was sev- 
eral years a representative in the legislature of that 
state, from his adopted town, Hyde Park. 

REV. JOHN WOODS. 

At a legal town meeting, held Oct. 8, 1813, — 

Voted to Joine with the Church in this town in Giveing Mr, 
John Woods a call to Settle in the minestry in this town. , 

Voted to Give Mr. Woods 300 Dollars annually for his Services 
as a minester in this town. 

Here is a cordial indorsement of the young minis- 
ter, but for some unknown cause the town " soured 
on him " just three weeks after the above votes were 
passed. 

At a meeting, held Nov. 1st, the vote giving to Mr. 



304 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Woods $300 annually was reconsidered ; and at the 
same time the town voted not to give him the inter- 
est on the parsonage money, amounting to twenty- 
two dollars and a half annually. 

In this connection the following record should be 
presented. The bad orthography and the grammat- 
ical blunders are attributable to the town-clerk. 

December 1813, then peorsonely apeared pliilii:) flanders Jun. 
and Gave his Desent against the Settlement of Mr. John woods 
as a minister in this town. 

Notwithstanding these hostile indications, Rev. Mr. 
Woods came on according to agreement. He was 
ordained June 22, 1814, one of the hottest June days 
ever known. He remained in Warner till 1823. [See 
Ecclesiastical History.] 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1814. 

Thomas Annis, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 



For Governor. 




John T. Gilman, 


82 


"William Plumer, 


232 



Benjamin Evans, representative. 

Thomas Hackett, \ 

Abner Flanders, > Selectmen. 

Richard Straw, ) 

Thomas Hackett, senior, lived on the Tory Hill 
road, near where Richard B. Whittier now resides, 
perhaps on the exact spot. The second Thomas (who 



TOWN RECOEDS. 305 

was the selectman) was a son of the first. He lived 
a number of years at the McAlpine place. While in 
Warner he drew a thousand-dollar prize in a lottery, 
and in him was verified, for the millionth time, the 
adage, " It is easier to stand adversity than pros- 
perity." 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1815. 

Thomas Annis, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

John T. Gilman, 70 

William Plumer, 229 

Philip Flanders, representative. 

Richard Straw, "^ 

Thomas Hackett, > Selectmen. 
Moses Annis, j 

Voted that no horse nor Cattle Shall be alowed to run at Large 
on the highway in this town from the first day of December tel 
the Last Day of march under the penalty of paying 25 cents per 
head one half to complainer the other to use of the town for every 
offence. 

[Unless there has been a radical change in the 
seasons, there must have been some blunder about 
the above vote.] 

Philip Flanders, representative, was a brother to 
James, Daniel, and Christopher. He lived, as stated 
elsewhere, at the Elm farm. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1816. 

Thomas Annis, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 



306 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

For Governor. 

William Plumer, 240 

James Sheafe, 65 

Henry B. Chase, representative. 

Benjamin Evans, '\ 

Thomas Hackett, > Selectmen. 

Moses Annis, ) 

Voted to receive Jonathan Watkins and the farm he lives on if 
the Same shall be anexed to the town of Warner by an act of the 
General Coart. 

Voted to receive the land owned by Thaddeus Hardy if anexed 
on to warner by an act of the General coart, 

A COLD SEASON. 

The summer of 1816 was cold and unfruitful. On 
inauguration day, in June, there was snow to the 
depth of four inches on a level. Not a month in the 
whole season escaped the frost, and the corn-crop, as 
well as certain other crops, was substantially de- 
stroyed. There was great scarcity in the country, 
and much suffering in the fall and winter of 1816 
and the spring and early summer of 1817. Corn, 
which in productive seasons sold for fifty cents a 
bushel, would now bring three dollars, and there was 
almost none to be had at that. 

It was probably at this time that Isaac Dalton, 
who was afterwards for many years a deacon in the 
Congregational church, inquired of Enoch Morrill, a 
brother church-member, at the close of the services 



TOWN RECORDS. 307 

one Sabbath day, if he could spare him a bushel of 
corn. "Ask me to-morrow/' said Morrill, " and I will 
tell you," No more was said. On Monday morning, 
Dalton, who lived at the Levi 0. Colby place, trudged 
off over to Morrill's, on Pumpkin Hill, a distance of 
four miles, with a bag under his arm, and said, " I 
have come to see if you could spare me that corn I 
spoke to you about yesterday." " I have no corn to 
sell," was the unexpected reply ; " and I answered you 
as I did, that you might learn to remember the Sab- 
bath day and keep it holy." 

Such people may have been conscientious, but their 
influence and example were hurtful. Their religious 
beliefs were harsh and unrelenting, their visages were 
austere and sour, and boys and girls habitually shun- 
ned these "vessels of vinegar on the highway to 
heaven." 

The summer of 1816 was very discouraging to the 
farmers and people of Warner. Indeed, it was so to 
the whole of New England, but the spring of 1817 
opened auspiciously. The season was a remarkably 
productive one, and every man could say to his 
neighbor, — "For the pastures of the wilderness do 
spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig-tree and 
the vine do yield their strength." 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1817. 

Aquila Davis, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 



308 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

For Governor. 

William Plumer, 241 

James Slieafe, 49 

Henry B. Chase, representative. 

James Bean, \ 

Ricliard Straw, > Selectmen. 

Reuben Porter, j 

Voted to Discontinue the road from the Gide post near Joseph 
currier's a crost the river to the Gide post Southerly of Buring 
Ground to the road Leading to hiniker. 

Capt. Joseph Smith was chosen Collector of taxes at one cent 
and nine mills on the Dollar. 

James Bean was a son of Nathaniel, who settled on 
Pumpkin Hill. He was born May, 1785, and he al- 
ways resided in town. He died at the age of 45. No 
sons of his, but four daughters, are now living, viz., 
Mrs. Tufts, of Medford, Mass., Mrs. Ira Harvey, Mrs. 
Geo. T. Watkins, of Kansas, and Mrs. Geo. S. Rowell. 

Reuben Porter was from Weymouth, Mass., where 
he was born about 1790. He came to Warner in 
1812, and commenced the study of medicine with Dr. 
Moses Long, who was then at the Centre Village. He 
abandoned that study to engage in mercantile busi- 
ness. Subsequently he Avent to North Sutton, where 
he had a large farm to care for and cultivate. He 
served several years, both in Warner and Sutton, as 
selectman ; also served as representative from Sutton, 
and as senator for old District No. 8, in 1834 and 
1835. He recently returned with his family to War- 
ner, and is now living, at the age of nearly 90. 



TOWN RECORDS. 309 



ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1818. 

Benjamin Evans, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

William Plumer, 262 

ScatterinsT, 34 



Benjamin Evans, representative. 

1 



James Bean, 

Eeuben Porter, V Selectmen. 

Timothy Flanders, ) 



Voted that Kiea Sarge Gore Should be anexed to the town of 
Warner. 

Stephen Currier, jr., Choosen Collector of taxes for one cent 
and four mills on the dol. 

The Gore was annexed to Warner by , act of the 
legislature at the June session of 1818. 

Timothy Flanders was another of the sons of James. 
He lived (certainly for many years) at Melvin's Mills, 
and died there some thirty years ago. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1819. 

Richard Bartlett, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 



For Governor. 




Samuel Bell, 


185 


William Hale, 


54 



Benjamin Evans, representative. 

James Bean, "^ 

Reuben Porter, > Selectmen. 

Richard Straw, j 



310 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Voted that the easterly part that is bel6w thomases pond so 
cold of the School District no. one Should be Sot off to a School 
District by them Selves. 

This was the establishment of the Davisville school 
district. The inhabitants of Davisville had, prior to 
this, belonged to the Dimond's Corner district. 

Jonathan Emerson was appointed to collect the 
taxes at one cent and four mills on the dollar. 

At a legal meeting, held August 21, 1819, — 

Voted that the road from wells Davises to Nathaniel Bean's be 
Discontinuard as a publick road for the present but to be pasable 
by Gats and Bars for the present. 

MASONIC. 

A lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, called "War- 
ner Lodge, No. 35," was organized in 1819. As its 
hall, furniture, records, &c., were destroyed by fire in 
May, 1849, and the lodge thereafter soon ceased to 
exist, but little is known of its history or its work. 
It had upon its rolls the names of many of the lead- 
. ing men of the town. Among its officers, during the 
period of its existence, were Aquila Davis, Henry B. 
Chase, Henry Lyman, Stephen Putney, Joshua Saw- 
yer, James Bean, Thomas R. White, Nathaniel Davis, 
H. G. Harris, Caleb Buswell, Noah T. Andrews, Abner 
B. Kelley, Isaac Gould, Zebulon Davis, Daniel Wat- 
son, Isaac Dalton, Daniel Runnels, Nicholas Fowler, 
Richard Bartlett, Nicodemus Watson, Abner Wat- 
kins, Chase Fowler, James Allison, Ithamar Watson, 
David Harvey, Joseph Clough, and others. 



MASONIC. 311 

To show the standing; of this lodg-e while it had an 

existence, the following extract from the report of a 

" visiting brother," is presented. 

1842. I went to Warner in December last, where I found a 
good number of brethren assembled. Warner Lodge is not, per- 
haps, second to any lodge in point of respectability, under the 
jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge. 

Samuel Jones, 

D. D. G. M. 

Formation of Harris Lodge, No. 91, F. and A. J/, Warner, 
New Hampshire. 

A petition, signed by Gilman C. George, Alonzo C. 
Carroll, Wesley R Leversee, Wm. W. Davis, Samuel 
Davis, James G. Ela, John R, Cogswell, Garland Calef, 
Hiram Buswell, Augustus R. Putnam, C. G. McAlpine, 
Philip C. Wheeler, Frank W. Graves, John E. Robert- 
son, Lemuel Willis, Stephen W. Davis, Zebulon Davis, 
Rufus Rand, Philip C. Bean, and N. G. Ordway, was 
presented to the M. W. Grand Lodge of New Hamp- 
shire, at its Annual Communication in May, 1875, 
praying for a charter for a lodge at Warner, to be 
named HcutIs Lodge, which petition was granted. 

September 30th, 1875, the lodge was constituted, 
consecrated, and its officers installed by the Most 
Worshipful Grand Lodge of New Hampshire, at the 
town hall. The ceremonies were performed by R. 
W. Bro. Solon A. Carter, M. W. Grand Master. 

The ladies who furnished the collation, and others, 
about one hundred in number, were present by special 
invitation. 



312 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

The following are the names of those installed as 
officers of Harris Lodo-e: 

Gilman C. George, Master. 
Wesley R. Leversee, Senior Warden. 
Philip C. Wheeler, Junior Warden. 
Alonzo C. Carroll, Treasurer. 
James G. Ela, Secretary. 
Augustus R. Pitman, Senior Deacon. 
John R. Cogswell, Junior Warden. 
Rev. Lemuel Willis, Chaplain. 
Prank W. Graves, Marshal. 
' Samuel Davis, Senior Steward. 

Stephen W. Davis, Junior Steward. 
Wm. W. Davis, Tyler. 

Se2)temher, 1S76. 
Elected. Appointed. 

Gilman C. George, W. M. Fred. Bean, S. D. 

Benjamin P. Heath, S. W. J. R. Cogswell, J. D. 

Samuel Davis, J. W. S. W. Davis, S. S. 

Alonzo C. Carroll, T. Henry C. Davis, J. S. 

James G. Ela, S. Philip M. Wheeler, Tyler. 

Philip C. Wheeler, Rep. to Lemuel Willis, Chaplain. 

Grand Lodge. A. R. Putnam, Marshal. 

October, 1877. 
■ Elected. Appointed. 

G. C. George, W. M. Fred. Bean, S. D. 

Philip C. Wheeler, S. W. Charles C. Cole, J. D. 

J. R. Cogswell, J. W. Henry C. Davis, S. S. 

A. C. Carroll, T. Philip F. Clough, J. S. 
James G. Ela, S. Samuel Davis, Marshal, 

B. F. Heath, Rep. to G. L. Lemuel WilHs, Chaplain. 

Warren C. Johnson, Tyler. 

October, 1878. 
Elected. Appoi7ited. 

G. C. George, W. M. C. C. Cole, S. D. 

A. R. Putnam, S. W. Wm. W. Burbank, J. D. 



OILMAN C, GEORGE. 313 

W. Scott Davis, J. W. Edgar W. Stevens, S. S. 

A. C. Carroll, T. Moses H. Eoby^ J. S. 

James G. Ela, S. Philip F. Clougli, Chaplain. 

J. R. Cogswell, Rep. to G. L. Samuel Davis, Marshal. 

Fred. W. Davis, Tyler. 

GiLMAN C. George. William George, an English- 
man, settled at Lynn in 1637. James George is found 
in Haverhill, Mass., as early as 1653, Richard in Bos- 
ton in 1655, and John in Charlestown in 1657. It is 
probable that one of these was the ancestor of Gilman 
C. George, who was a son of James and Hannah 
(Church) George, and a grandson of Dea. Austin 
George. Born in Dunbarton, Oct. 10, 1820, Gilman 
C. enjoyed the advantages of a good common-school, 
and subsequently of an academic course of study at 
Hopkinton and Franklin. He taught school several 
winters. The family removed to Warner in March, 
1840, and settled on the farm now owned and occu- 
pied by Ira P. Whittier. 

January 23, 1844, Mr. George married Nancy, 
daughter of Elliot C. and Judith (Sawyer) Badger. 
H. Maria, Adelaide B., Ambrose (who died in infancy), 
Frank G., and Nellie F. are the children who have 
been born to this couple. In 1859 (after the death 
of his parents) Mr. George sold his farm and removed 
to Warner Village. Here he carried on the stove and 
tin ware business till January, 1870, when he was 
elected cashier of the Kearsarge National Bank. In 
1874 he was elected treasurer of the Kearsarge Sav- 
ings Bank, which two positions he still holds. 



314 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

He was a captain in the state militia in 1843 and 
1844, and was town-clerk in 1868, '69, '70, and '71. 
He is a justice of the peace and a notary public ; also, 
an active member of Warner Grange, and of the Or- 
der of Sons of Temperance. He has been Worship- 
ful Master of Harris Lodge, No. 91, continuously since 
its organization in 1875. 

DIVORCE OF CHURCH AND STATE. 

The year 1819 was an epoch in the religious his- 
tory of New Hampshire. The Toleration Act, so 
called, was passed by the legislature of that year, and 
approved July 1, 1819. The vital part of that act 
here follows : 

J'rovided, that no person shall be compelled to join or support, 
or be classed with, or associated to any congregation, church, or 
religious society, without his express consent first had and ob- 
tained ; 

Provided, also, if any person shall choose to separate himself 
from such society or association to which he may belong, and 
"shall leave a written notice thereof with the clerk of such society 
or association, he shall thereupon be no longer liable for any fu- 
ture expenses which may be incurred by said society or associa- 
tion. 

The public mind had long been getting restive un- 
der the compulsory support of the ministry, and this 
act was simply the outgrowth of a strong, predom- 
inating sentiment. It put an end to all town action 
relative to the support of the church, and to all irk- 
some taxation levied on an unwilling people, but it 



HERESIE. 315 

did not diminish the amount contributed for the 
maintenance of public worship. 

To show something of the growth of religious tol- 
erance, a few sections are here introduced from a stat- 
ute on heresy, passed at an early day in Massachu- 
setts. 

HERESIE. 

Although no Human Power is Lord over the faith and con- 
sciences of men, yet to avoid damnable Heresies, tending to the 
subverting the Christian Faith spreading among the Inhabitants 
of this Jurisdiction, 'tis enacted that if any person within this 
Jurisdiction shall broach and maintain any Damnable Heresies, 
as denying the Immortality of the Soul, or the Resurrection of 
the Body, or any sin to be repented of in the regenerate, or any 
evil to be done by the outward man to be accounted sin, or shall 
deny that Christ gave himself a ransom for our sins, or shall af- 
firm that we are not justified by his Death and E-ighteousness, 
but by our own Merit ; or shall deny the morality of the 4th 
Commandment, or shall openly condemn or oppose the Baptizing 
of Infants, or shall purposely depart the Congregation at the ad- 
ministration of the Ordinance of Baptism, or shall deny the Ordi- 
nance of Magistracy, or their lawful authority to make War and 
Peace, and to punish the outward Breaches of the first Table, or 
shall endeavor to seduce others to any of those opinions, every 
such person lawfully convicted shall be Banished this Jurisdic- 
tion. 

If an offender after said Conviction, or Recantation shall com- 
mit the same offence a second time, he shall be Banished or put 
to Death as the Coi;rt shall direct. 

Blasphemous Books of tTohn Veers or Lodowick 3Iuggleton to 
be delivered to the next Magistrate on penalt}'- of ten pounds for 
every Book found, half to the County and half to the Informer. 

All the Books found in any person's custody to be burnt by the 
Hangman the next Lecture day. 

No Master of any Vessel may bring any Quaker or other Blas- 
phemous Heretick into this County on penalty of one hundred 
21 



316 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

pounds to be paid to the Treasurer, and give security to carry the 
persons back again, and to lie in Prison till the Fine be paid and 
Security given. 

Persons concealing such Quaker or Blasphemous Heretick, 
knowing them to be such, on Conviction shall pay 40s an hour for 
such concealment, and shall lie in Prison till the Pine be paid. 

Quakers, not Inhabitants, may be apprehended by any Consta- 
ble or Select-man, and conveyed from Constable to Constable till 
they are brought before a Magistrate, who shall commit them to 
Prison without Bail till the next Court of Assistants, when they 
shall be tryed by a special jury, and being convicted shajl be Ban- 
ished, not to return on pain of Death. 

Wandering, Vagabond Quakers, having no dwelling nor appar- 
ent business but to seduce others to their o^^inion, shall be whipt 
at the Cart's Tail through the Town where they are apprehended, 
and then be conveyed from Constable to Constable till they are 
carried through the last town in the Jurisdiction. 

The Constables shall disburse the Charges in apprehending, 
whipping and passing of Quakers, to be repaid by the Treasurer 
out of the next County rates, and Constables may impress Carts, 
Horses, Oxen, or Men for the execution of this Law. 

It is a pleasure to state that these laws, and such as 
these, were never enacted on New Hampshire soil ; 
but New Hampshire belonged to the jurisdiction of 
Massachusetts, and it is humiliation enough to know 
that her soil has been disgraced by the execution of 
such laws upon it. 

QUAKER WOMEN WHIPPED. 

In December, 1662, three Quaker women were 
publicly whipped in New Hampshire. In the depth 
of winter, the constables were ordered to strip them 
and tie them to a cart ; then to drive the cart and 



QUAKER WOMEN WHIPPED. 317 

whip these three women through eleven towns, with 
ten stripes apiece in each town. The route lay 
through Dover, Hampton, Salisbury, Newbury, Eow- 
ley, Ipswich, Wenham, Lynn, Boston, Roxbury, and 
Dedham, a distance of eighty miles. They were 
whipped at Dover and Hampton, and then marched 
" through dirt and snow, half-leg deep," in a very cold 
day, to Salisbury, and there whipped again. They 
would probably have fallen dead long before reaching 
the end of the journey, but at Salisbury they were 
happily released. Walter Barefoot persuaded the 
constable to make him his deputy, and having re- 
ceived the warrant, he set them at liberty, and they 
returned to Dover. 



OHAPTEE XXIII. 

TOWN RECORDS — THE TORNADO. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1820. 

Benjamin Evans, moderator. 
David Bagley, town-clerk. 

For Governor, 
Samuel Bell, 234 

E-icliard Bartlett, representative. 

Richard Bartlett, \ 

E-euben Porter, >- Selectmen. 

Timothy Flanders, ) 

The support of the town's poor (there being eleven 
persons) was sold to the lowest bidder. The prices 
ran from 22 to 79 cents per week. 

The record of this meeting continues : 

David Bagley Choosen Collector at one cent and seven mills 
on the dollar. 

the sense of Legal voters was taken Relative to forming a new 
County ; against the new County 207 — in favor of the new 
County 35. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 182L 

James Bean, moderator. 
Ahner B. Kelley, town-clerk. 



TOWN RECORDS. 319 

For Governor. 

Samuel Bell, 217 

David L; Morrill, 12 

James Bean, representative. 

James Bean, \ 

Timothy Flanders, > Selectmen. 

Nathaniel Manders, j 

The support of the poor was sold to the lowest bid- 
der, one person being put up at a time. This course 
was followed several years. 

Voted that no swine shall he allowed to go at large in the 
Maine road from Hopkinton line to Sutton and Bradford lines, 
without being liable to be impounded by Hogreeves. 

Abner Woodman, Jr., was appointed collector of 
taxes. 

The town records are now in perfect order; the 
orthography is correct, and the handwriting faultless. 
Abner B. Kelley, the new town-clerk, was a son of Rev. 
Wm. Kelley, the first minister of Warner. He was 
born March, 1788. He obtained a good academic 
education, and when a young man he was considera- 
bly engaged in school-teaching. After his marriage, 
he lived just above his father, near the Parade, a few 
years. Subsequently he went into business at the 
Lower Village, where J. Noyes Rand now resides. 
He served frequently as town-clerk and as representa- 
tive of the town. In June, 1830, he was elected state 
treasurer, and he held that office six years. He was 



820 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

afterwards a clerk for six years in one of the depart- 
ments at Washington. He was post-master at Warner 
from 1855 to 1861 ; and he died in Warner, January, 
1872, aged 83 years. 

He left three daughters, viz., the widow of Rev. J. 
Wellman, the wife of Dr. Peabody of Henniker, and 
Miss Lavinia Kelley of Concord ; also, one son, Moses 
Kelley, of Washington, D. C. 

Capt. Nathaniel Flanders was a son of Zebulon, and 
the oldest of a large family of children. He married 
a daughter of Dea. Nehemiah Heath. He always 
resided within half a mile of the place of his birth, 
where he died at a good old age, about the year 1860. 
Two sons and one daughter, only, survive him, viz., 
John and Nehemiah Flanders, of Stewartstown, and 
Mrs. Keyser, on the old homestead. 

THE TORNADO. 

High winds have always been considered one of the 
greatest disparagements to a country. In tropical 
climates these are much more common than farther 
from the equator. The discoverers of that part of the 
United States, then called North Virginia, which now 
composes New England and the states of New York 
and New Jersey, in speaking of its natural advantages 
to the Crown, said, that by the appearance of the 
forests, hurricanes did not often visit the land. 

Webster says, a tornado is " a violent gust of wind, 



THE TORNADO. 321 

or a tempest; distinguished by a whirling motion ;" 
and Worcester says, " In a tornado, the wind blows 
from its borders towards the centre." The winged 
messenger of death, which bore down through Warner 
on that fatal September day of 1821, was a tornado, 
and so let it hereafter be forever known. 

The day and hour when this visitation occurred, in 
Warner, was Sunday, September 9, 1821, about five 
o'clock in the afternoon. The 8th and 9th were warm 
days : the latter was sultry. About five o'clock a 
black cloud was observed to rise rapidly in the north- 
west, and to bear south-easterly, illumined in its 
course by incessant flashes of lightning. There was a 
most terrifying commotion in the cloud itself, which 
gave warning of fearful desolation. A high wind pre- 
vailed as far back as Lake Champlain, but the tornado 
acquired no destructive force till it passed over Gran- 
tham mountains. In Croydon the house of Deacon 
Cooper was shattered, and his barn, with its contents, 
was entirely swept away. No other buildings were 
directly in its narrow path, till it nearly reached Sun- 
apee lake. Here it came in contact with the farm 
and buildings of John Harvey Huntoon, of Wendell, 
now Sunapee. There were eight persons in the 
house. They had beheld the frightful appearance of 
the cloud ; had seen the air before it filled with birds, 
and broken limbs of trees, and rubbish of all kinds ; 
but there had not been much time for reflection or 



322 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

for seeking safety. The tornado, after a moment's 
warning, was upon them, and the house and the two 
barns were instantly prostrated to the ground. A 
broadside of the house fell upon Mr. Huntoon and his 
wife, who were standing in the kitchen. The next 
moment it was blown off and dashed to pieces. Mrs. 
Huntoon was swept at least ten rods from the house. 
A child eleven months old was sleeping on a bed in 
the west room : the dress it wore was soon after found 
in the lake, a hundred and fifty rods from the house. 
The child could not be found. The Wednesday fol- 
lowing, its mangled body was picked up on the shore 
of the lake, whither it had floated on the waves. The 
bedstead on which the child was sleeping was found 
in the woods, eighty rods from the house, northerly, 
and clear out of the general track of the cyclone. 
The other seven persons of the household were in- 
jured, but none of them died. Every tree on a forty- 
acre lot of woodland was levelled to the ground. A 
bureau was blown across the lake.' A horse was 
dashed against the rocks and killed. 

The tornado passed across Sunapee lake, drawing 
up into its bosom vast quantities of water. New Lon- 
don suffered a loss of property estimated at $9,000. 
Eight or ten barns, five or six houses, and many out- 
buildings were entirely or partially destroyed in that 
town. From New London the tornado passed across 
the northerly part of Sutton, cutting a swath through 



THE TORNADO. 323 

the forests which is visible to this day, but coming in 
contact with no buildings. It then bore up the north- 
west side of Kearsarge mountain, apparently in two 
columns. In pitching down over the mountain into 
the Gore, the two columns merged into one, and 
came with crushing force. The thunders rolled fear- 
fully, the forked lightning flashed on the dark back- 
ground, and the flood was driven with the gale. In 
this valley, between the two spurs of the mountain, 
stood seven dwelling-houses. The tornado first struck 
the barn of William Harwood, and demolished that; 
passing onward, its outer limits came in contact with 
the houses of M. F. Goodwin, James Ferrin, and Ab- 
ner Watkins. All of these houses were damaged : 
Ferrin's barn was destroyed, and Watkins's unroofed. 
Next in the line of march stood Daniel Savory's 
house. Hearing a frightful rumbling in the heavens, 
Mr. Samuel Savory, aged 72, the father of the propri- 
etor (who was away), hastened up stairs to close the 
windows. The women started to his assistance, when 
the house whirled and instantly rose above their 
heads, while what was left behind, — timbers, bricks, 
etc., — almost literally buried six of the family in the 
ruins. The body of the aged Samuel Savory was 
found at a distance of six rods from the house, where 
he had been dashed against a stone and instantly 
killed. His wife was severely injured. Mrs. Daniel 
Savory was fearfully bruised on the head, arms, and 



324 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

breast; and an infant which she held in her arms was 
killed. The house of Robert Savory stood very near 
this place, and that, also, was utterly demolished. 
Mrs. Savory and the children (six in number) were 
buried together under the bricks and rubbish. Some 
of them were severely injured, but none killed. Not 
only the houses, but the barns and outbuildings at 
the two Savory places, were utterly cleaned out. Not 
one stone was left upon another. Trees, fences, shin- 
gles, the legs, wings, and heads of fowls, filled the air. 
Crops were swept off clean ; stones partly buried in 
the earth were overturned ; trees of every description 
were denuded of their branches, or twisted oJ3f at the 
trunk, or torn up by the roots. There were twenty- 
four hives of bees at the Robert Savory place, — per- 
haps the property of both families : these were swept 
out of sight in an instant. The ground was sweetened 
with honey for half a mile, but no hive and no sign 
of a bee has since been seen. The Savorys and Ab- 
ner Watkins had caught a noble old bear on the 
mountain, and had chained him to a sill of Robert 
Savory's barn, intending to exhibit him at the muster, 
which occurred the 10th day of September, back of 
George Savory's present house. Though the barn 
was entirely destroyed to its foundation, the sill to 
which the bear was chained being a cross-sill, and 
bedded into the ground, remained in its place, and 
the bear was unhurt. But he was not exhibited the 
next day on the muster-field. 



THE TORNADO. 325 

Jolin Palmer, who lived up to the eastward of the 
Savorys a third of a mile, saw the terrible cloud, in 
shape like an inverted tunnel. He saw the air filled 
with leaves, limbs, quilts, clothing, crockery, and 
almost every conceivable thing. He heard the omi- 
nous rumbling, and sprang to enter the house with 
the purpose of fleeing, with his wife, to the cellar. 
He got the door but partly open, when the house 
gave wa}'", burying Mrs. Palmer under the rubbish, 
and inflicting serious injuries. In this valley between 
the hills, everything in the direct course of the tor- 
nado was rooted out. Bridges made of logs were 
scattered in every direction, timbers being thrown to 
the right and left, and even to the rear, as well as to 
the front. 

The tornado passed on over the next spur of the 
mountain, two and a half miles, and then bore down 
on the houses of Peter Flanders in Warner, and of 
Dea. Joseph True, just in the edge of Salisbury. 
[Peter Flanders was the father of True and Oliver 
Flanders, the latter of whom occupies the old home- 
stead.] Dea. True was father-in-law of a Mr. Jones. 
Jones and his wife were on a visit at True's. Being at 
the door, they were apprised of the danger, and they 
called out lustily to the family to seek refuge as best 
they could. The buildings were whirled aloft and 
torn into fragments, falling around the fsimily like 
missiles of death ; but no one at this house was killed 



326 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

outright. The buildings of Mr. Flanders, also, were 
scattered like chaff, the violence of the gale being 
unabated. Anna Richardson, an elderly woman living 
with Mr. Flanders, and a child of the latter, were 
crushed to death. Several others were grievously 
wounded, one of whom (a child of Mr. True's) died a 
short time afterwards. 

From here this remarkable cyclone passed on over 
Bagley's pond, drawing up vast sheets of water from 
its surface, and, after destroying the house of a Mr. 
Morrill, near Boscawen line, it lifted itself into the 
heavens and vanished. 

At the close of a mass meeting which the writer 
addressed at Painesville, Ohio, in 1869, an old gentle- 
man, to appearance bowed with sorrow, came forward 
and made himself known as Mr. Huntoon, the father 
of the child that was destroyed by the tornado. He 
had left the shores of Sunapee and the marks of the 
desolation of 1821, forty years before this, and had 
established his home in Ohio. He appeared discon- 
solate and care-worn ; but he has now gone where the 
inhabitant doth not say, — 

" I am sick, and I am weary." 



CHAPTEE XXIV. 

A NEW COUNTY — THE NATION'S GUEST — TOWN RECORDS — CAT- 
TLE SHOW. 

T the June session of the lesrislatnre of 1821, a 
resolution was adopted directing the selectmen, 
in the several towns embraced in the contemplated 
new county of Merrimack, to insert the following 
article in the warrants for the next annual town 
meetings : 

To take the sense of the legal voters, by yeas and nays, regard- 
ing the expediency of erecting a new County in this State, to be 
composed of the following towns, viz. : Allenstown, Bow, Canter- 
bury, Concord, Chichester, Epsom, Northfield, Pembroke, Loudon, 
Pittsfield, Andover, Boscawen, Bradford, Dunbartou, Fishersfield, 
Henniker, Hopkinton, New London, Salisbury, Warner and Wil- 
mot : Provided some one town near the centre of said proposed 
new county, shall furnish, free of expense to the county, a suffi- 
cient Court House for the accommodation of the courts in said 
proposed new county. 

In March, 1822, on this question, the vote stood : 





YEAS. 


JTATS. 


Andover, 


202 


5 


Boscawen, 


230 


9 


Canterbury, 


152 


8 


Concord, 


522 


6 


Dunbarton, 


140 


18 



328 HISTORY OF WARNEK. 





YEAS. 


NA-S 


Epsom, 


29 


53 


Hopkinton, 


3 


324 


Loudon, 


199 


5 


Pembroke, 


142 


53 


Salisbury, 


240 


19 


Allenstown, 


11 


55 


Bow, 


190 


6 


Fishersfield, 


5 


85 


Henniker, 


4 


97 


New London, 


8 


92 


Nortbfield, 


172 


2 


Sutton, 


3 


135 


Warner, 


41 


171 



No returns from Bradford, Wilmot, or Pittsfield, 
can be found ; but the majority for the new county 
was decisive. For some reason, however, the legisla- 
ture, at its next session, took no action on this ques- 
tion. But, by act of the legislature at the June ses- 
sion of 1823, the county of Merrimack was created. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1822. 

Benjamin Evans, moderator. 
Abner B. Kelley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 
Samuel Bell, 150 

Voted to send two representatives. 

Representatwes. 

Benjamin Evans, James Bean. 

Timothy Flanders, \ 
Benjamin Evans, \ Selectmen. 
Nathaniel Flanders, ) 

Abner Woodman, Jr., collector of taxes. 



TOWN RECOEDS. 329 

On the question of creating a new county, there 
were 41 yeas and 171 nays. 

Chose Beaman French culler of Staves, 

Voted to make Capt. Cyrus Watson some compensation in con- 
sequence of his being hurt in March, 1821, by means of obstruc- 
tion in the highway near the Bridge by the Baptist Meeting 
House. 

Voted to give Capt. Watson sixty dollars if he will be satisfied 
with that sum. 

Voted that the Poor of the town be set up. at auction on the 
same terms as they were last year. 

There were 16 persons to be provided for, and the 
board ranged from 9 cents to $1.49 per week. 

Voted to give Enoch Osgood $15 for injury received in falling 
from the bridge by the Baptist Meeting House. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1823. 

Benjamin Evans, moderator. 
Abner B. Kelley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Levi Woodbury, Igg 

Scattering, \^ 

Representatives. 
Benjamin Evans, Henry B. Chase. 
Timothy Flanders, \ 
Benjamin Evans, \ Selectmen. 
Daniel George, ) 

Struck off the collection of Taxes, at one cent 5 mills on the 
dollar, to James B. Straw. 

The support of the poor was this year put up in 
gross, and "struck off to Samuel Hill at $279.50." 



330 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Samuel Hill was the oldest son of Benjamin Hill. 
After the father had gone from town, Samuel occu- 
pied the homestead awhile, which was the present 
poor-farm. 

Voted that the Selectmen be a Committee to examine the 
clothes of the paupers, and see that they [the paupers, not the 
clothes] are treated with humanity. 

Major Daniel George was a son of John George, 
and was born at Hopkinton Lower Village. He was 
actively engaged in mercantile business in Warner a 
great many years. He also built and kept a hotel, 
near his store and dwelling-house. He was a lieuten- 
ant in Capt. Joseph Smith's company, in the war of 
1812, and was afterwards a major in the state militia. 
He was considerably in public life, and was a very 
prompt, energetic man. He was twice married, his 
first wife being the sister, and his second wife the 
daughter, of John Bean. He had a large family of 
children, but only two of them remain, — Daniel B. 
George, of Cincinnati, and Mrs. Henry C. Barnabee, of 
Boston. His second wife, now the widow of Rev. 
Lemuel Willis, still survives. 

James B. Straw, who was appointed collector of 
taxes, at this time, lived on Tory Hill, at the John 
Hardy place, though he was a Salisbury man by birth. 
His wife, Mehitable, was a daughter of Ebenezer Fisk, 
of Wilmot, and a sister to John Fisk, who was acci- 
dentally killed at the saw-mill on Stevens brook. 



EZEKIEL A. STRAW. 331 

EzEKiEL A. Straw, a son of the above named couple, 
was born at the Hardy (now Jacob Chase) place, Dec. 
30, 1819. A few years after his birth the family 
removed to Lowell, and Mr. James B. Straw entered 
into the service of the Appleton Manufacturing Com- 
pany. He died at Lowell in 1830. Ezekiel A., in 
due time, entered the English department of Phillips 
academj^, at Andover, Mass., where he applied him- 
self successfully to the study of practical mathematics. 
Upon leaving this institution, he was, in the spring of 
1838, employed as assistant civil engineer on the 
Nashua & Lowell Railroad, then in process of con- 
struction. In July of that year he entered the ser- 
vice of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company as 
civil engineer. He continued in this position till 
1851, when he was appointed agent of this company, 
and placed in charge of their land and water-power. 
His duties and responsibilities were enlarged again in 
1856, and again in 1858. In 1844 Mr. Straw was 
sent, in behalf of the Amoskeag Company, to England 
and Scotland, to obtain information and machinery. 
His mission was successful. 

In 1859, '60, '61, '62, and '63, Mr. Straw was elected 
from the city of Manchester to the legislature of the 
state. The last three of these years he was chairman 
of the Committee on Finance. In 1864 and 1865 he 
was elected to the state senate, and was president of 
that body the last year. 

9'> 



332 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

In 1872, after a long and bitter contest, he was 
elected governor of the state, and was reelected in 
1873. He served his state with credit to himself in 
all these positions. 

Mr. Straw was married to Miss Charlotte Smith 
Webster, of Amesbury, Mass., in 1842. He has two 
daughters and one son. The latter is now an agent 
of the Amoskeag Company. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1824. 

Henry B. Chase, moderator 
Abner B. Kelley, town-clerk. 

'For Governor. 
David L. Morrill, 109 

Levi Woodbury, 44 

Hepresentatives. 
Henry B. Chase, Abner B. Kelley. 

Daniel George, \ 

Harrison G. Harris, \ Selectmen. 

Jacob Sawyer, ) 

James B. Straw, collector. 

Support of the poor " struck off" again to Samuel 
Hill. 

Jacob Sawyer was a son of Edmund, and Edmund 
was a son of Joseph, who came from Hampstead in 
1763, and settled near the Parade. Jacob was born 
(and he probably lived at this time) on what is now 
known as the "old poor-farm." There are several 
sons of Jacob in different parts of the country, all 
men of standing. 



CALEB BUSWELL. 333 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1825 

Dr. Caleb Buswell, moderator. 
Abner B. Kelley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

David L. Morrill, 190 

Scattering, 12 

Hepresentatives. 
Timothy Flanders, Caleb Buswell. 

John Palmer, \ 

Benjamin E. Harriman, > Selectmen. 
Nathan S. Colby, ) 

Struck off the collection of Taxes, at one cent five mills, to 
Elliot C. Badger. 

Struck off the support of the Poor for the year to Moses Har- 
riman, at $294. 

Caleb Buswell was born at Grantham in 1795. His 
parents were originally from Concord. He was a 
ready scholar, and a superior mathematician. He be- 
came a practising physician before he was twenty-one 
years of age, having graduated with honor from the 
medical college at Hanover. He settled first at Sun- 
apee, where he held the offices of town-clerk and 
selectman. He settled at Warner in 1820, where the 
greater part of his short professional life was spent. 
In 1825 he was appointed surgeon of the fortieth reg- 
iment of N. H. militia, which office he resigned after 
holding it two years. He served as moderator in 
Warner, and also as representative in the legislature. 
In 1828 he removed with his family to Newport, hav- 



334 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

ino- sold his interests to one of his students in Warner 
(Dr. Leonard Eaton). While on a visit with his fam- 
ily, in August, 1828, he died of a fever, at Waterford, 
New York, at the age of 33. He was a brother to 
Hiram Buswell, of Warner, and his daughter (and 
only child) is the wife of Rev. King S. Hall, of Lake 
Villasre. 

John Palmer lived in that part of Warner called 
the Gore. The exact place of his residence is stated 
in the preceding chapter, his being one of the houses 
demolished by the tornado. He was a moderate 
farmer, and a surveyor of land. He has one son now 
living, Thomas Palmer, of Bradford. 

Nathan S. Colby was a son of Ezekiel, who was a 
son of Elliot Colby. His father lived on the Salisbury 
road, where Charles H. now resides. At an early day 
he en":ao[:ed in mercantile business at Warner villaoce, 
and continued in it through life. He also built th-e 
hotel at that place (which has recently been remod- 
elled), and acted as landlord till Nathan Walker took 
charge. He was a quick, stirring man, and was much 
in public life, though he died at an early age. He 
was twice married ; his first wife was a daughter of 
Hon. Benjamin Evans, and his second, a Miss Darrah, 
of Bedford, N. H. He died about forty years ago. 
Two, only, of his children now survive, viz., Dea. 
Charles H. Colby, Jr., of Warner, and Mrs. John C. 
Pearson, of Fisherville. 



GEN. LAFAYETTE. 335 



THE NATION'S GUEST. 



Gen. Lafayette's visit to this country, in 1824 and 
1825, was a notable event. Though more than forty 
years had elapsed since, at the close of the Revolu- 
tion, he had left these shores, and, though the country 
had undergone wonderful changes, the affection of 
the people for the friend of Washington, and the 
friend of the Republic in its dire necessity, knew no 
abatement. He was the Nation's Guest, and his jour- 
ney throughout the United States was one continuous 
ovation. 

He came to Concord, where a grand reception 
awaited him, June 22, 1825. Among the military 
companies which were ordered out by the command- 
er-in-chief, to do escort duty at the capital of the 
state, was the Warner Light Infantry, Capt. Wm. Cur- 
rier. Capt. Currier was a son of Theophilus, and was 
born at the " Kiah Corner," so called. He was a tan- 
ner and farmer, and he lived many years at the Moul- 
ton place in Schoodac. The aged people of Concord 
remember the bearing and appearance of his company 
on that occasion, and speak of it in terms of praise. 

After spending a few days at the capital, and in 
the eastern part of the state, Lafayette made a start 
from Concord, Monday, June 2Tth, to the westward, 
attended by a committee of the legislature. On reach- 
ing the line of Warner, near Rufus Putnam's, he was 



336 HISTORY OP WARNER. 

received by an escort of our citizens, and a short ad- 
dress of welcome was made by Dr. Moses Long. He 
was escorted to the meeting-house at Kelley's tavern. 
In front of the church, on the green, stood a long ta- 
ble laden with choice refreshments. It was now noon. 
Before Lafayette could alight from his carriage, an 
eager crowd pressed forward to look upon his face and 
to grasp his hand. Among the rest, little squealing 
Johnny Pherson, of Sutton or Bradford, — a man who 
never weighed but 75 pounds, — elbowed his way up 
to the carriage, shoved up his diminutive hand, and, 
with a nasal whine, ejaculated, ''^How dye do, Gineral 
Lafayette f I thought I know 'd ye ! " 

As the distinguished guest passed on through War- 
ner village, the old brass cannon waked the echoes 
among the hills ; and all along through Warner the 
old and young thronged the way to catch a glimpse 
of that remarkable man's face. 

The New Hampshire committee accompanied their 
guest to Pattee's hotel in Clare mont, where the Ver- 
mont authorities took him in charge. 

CATTLE SHOW. 

The second cattle show of the Merrimack County 

Agricultural Society took place at Henniker, Oct. 19, 

1825. It was thought to be a great success. Ezekiel 

Webster, the brother of Daniel, was president of the 

ociety. At that time he was in the full vigor of 



CATTLE SHOW. 337 

mature manhood, and was looking towards congress. 
The report states that " he gave an ingenious, able, 
and appropriate address." The exhibition, in all its 
parts, was an attractive one. "A plough with an iron 
mould-board was much admired." " Miss Sweet, of 
Concord, presented an elegant bonnet made by her- 
self, the chief article in its composition being the 
downy substance of the milk-weed." " The African 
gourd (the snake-bean), whose pods are said to grow 
to the length of two feet and upwards ; the Tangier 
bean, whose pod is short and of a beautiful purple 
color ; and the nondescript pea, with a very small pod, 
arrested much attention." 

The first premium ever given to an inhabitant of 
Warner, at any fair, was given at this time, and only 
one citizen of Warner received a premium. The 
record runs thus: 

Amos Putney, Warner, 2cl best bull under 4 years, $2. 

The animal that drew this money was a na;tive, of 
yellowish color, large, but very homely. Leve Max- 
field, who was Putney's henchman, and who felt that 
this animal had put all others into the shade, in driv- 
ing him home, remarked, with a wise nod of the head, 
^^They won't hinng no hulls next year 1 " 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1826. 

Benjamin Evans, moderator. 
Abner B. Kelley, town-clerk. 



338 HISTORY OF WARNER. 





For Governor. 




David L. 


Morrill, 


59 


Benjamin 


L Pierce, 

Representatives. 


197 


Benjamin Evans, Daniel George 





Nathan S. Colby, \ 

Jacob Sawyer, >- Selectmen. 

John Palmer, ) 

Voted to buy a farm to put the town poor on. 

Chose Stephen George, Stephen Bartlett, and 

Stephen Davis, as a committee to purchase such 

farm. 

Voted to sell at auction the support of soldiers [meaning din- 
ner for soldiers] muster day, to the lowest bidder. 

Struck off to Benjamin Evans at 20 cents for each soldier. 

The poor were disposed of in lots to different par- 
ties. Capt. Cyrus Watson was appointed collector of 
taxes. He was a Joppa man by birth, but he carried 
on blacksmithing at Warner village. He was a son 
of Jonathan, and a grandson of Dea. Parmenas, one 
of the first settlers of Warner. 

At a legal meeting, held May 13, 1826, — 

Voted to reconsider the vote passed at the last annual meeting, 
for purchasing a farm for the poor. 

At the same meeting, — 

Voted to raise no money for purchasing a farm. 

The year 1826 was remarkable for being the great 
" grasshopper year," and also for being the year of the 



BENJAMIN E. HAERIMAN. 339 

famous " x\ugust freshet." That freshet carried off 
nearly all the bridges of Warner, did great damage to 
roads, and entirely destroyed the crops on certain 
tracts of land. The Willey family at the White Moun- 
tain Notch was destroyed by this freshet, which oc- 
curred August 28, 1826. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1827. 

Benjamin Evans, moderator. 
Abner B. Kelley, town-clerk. 



For Governor. 




Benjamin Pierce, 


216 


Scattering, 


17 



Rep'esentatives. 

Benjamin Evans, Abner B Kelley. 

Nathan S. Colby, \ 

Benj. E. Harriman, \ Selectmen. 

Daniel George, ) 

Levi Flanders took the suj^port of the poor at $273. 

Capt. John Stewart took the contract to " victual " 
the soldiers, muster-day, at 19^ cents each. 

Abner Woodman, Jr., was appointed collector. 

Benjamin E. Harriman was a son of Asa, and was 
born in Warner, Jan. 14, 1791. His remotest ances- 
tor in this country was Leonard, who came from York- 
shire, England, in 1640, and whose name reappears, 
in the eighth generation, in the son of Leonidas Har- 
riman, of Warner. 

Benjamin E. was but three years of age when his 



340 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

father died, leaving four young children to the care 
of the mother. The family knew what it was " to be 
hungry " and " to suffer need," but seldom knew what 
it was " to abound." In due time the boys (Ben and 
David) became able to work, and ultimately to carry 
on the farm. After this " there was always meal in 
the barrel." 

B. E. Harriman (as well as the rest of the children 
of Asa) had a slim chance for schooling, but he was 
naturally studious, and was a devoted reader of his- 
tory, both ancient and modern. After his sons were 
tolerably well advanced in mathematics, he worked 
out for them many a difficult arithmetical problem, 
which the district " master " was unable to solve. He 
served a great many years as moderator at town 
meetings, eight or ten years as selectman, two years 
as a member of the legislature, and two years (1847 
and 1848) as chairman of the board of road commis- 
sioners for Merrimack county. He also frequently 
acted as magistrate in the trial of causes. 

He married Hannah, daughter of Zebulon Flanders, 
and had eight sons and two daughters, who lived to 
mature age. — viz., Henry H., Benjamin F., Walter, 
David C, Elhanan W., Augustine W., Leonidas, Han- 
nah, Helen, and Frank P., all of whom are now living 
except Elhanan W., who died at Piermont, June, 1851, 
aged 28, and Henry H., who died at Warner, May, 
1878, aged 64. 



BENJAMIN E. HAERIMAN. 341 

Benjamin E. Harriman died on the farm where he 
was born, and where he always lived, in October, 
1856, aged 65, and was buried on the river bank, at 
Pine Grove Cemetery. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

TOWN RECORDS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION HENNIKER CELEBRA- 
TION FIRST POOR-FARM. 

ANN^UAL MEETING, MARCH, 1828. 

Benjamin Evans, moderator. 
Abner B. Kelley, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

John Bell, 88 

Benjamin Pierce, 276 

Mepresentatives. 
Benjamin Evans, Abner B. Kelley. 

Nathan S. Colby, \ 

Benj. E. Harriman, >■ Selectmen. 

Stephen Davis, ) 

Zebulon D. Currier, collector. 

The support of most of the poor was bid off by 
Francis Davis, Jr., at $197. 

Stephen Davis was a son of Zebulon, and grandson 
of Francis. His brothers were Alpheus and Zebulon. 
He was born where he lived and died, which is the 
place now occupied by Charles P. Sawyer. Dr. Dana 
D. Davis was his son. 



GEN. JACKSON. 343 



PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 



In the state convention of the Jackson party at 
Concord, June, 1828, the delegates from Warner being 
Capt. Joshua Sawyer and John E. Dalton, — 

Resolved, That we would pardon Private injuries, but the con- 
duct of the Federal party during the last War, in aiding and 
assisting a foreign foe against our common country, we never can 
forget, and never xcill forgive while such conduct is attempted to 
be justified. 

This resohition is not introduced here on account 
of the sentiment embodied in it, but because it was 
written by Warner's young delegate, John E. Dalton, 
who at that time became a voter. But the resolution 
clearly shadows the animus of the campaign, which 
was a most exciting and fiery one. The party posi- 
tions were well defined. One party now, for the first 
time, distinctively took the name of " Democratic 
party." This supported General Jackson for the 
presidency. The other was popularly called the 
" Federal party," and it supported John Quincy 
Adams, who was then president of the United States. 

Great bitterness was manifested in that campaign. 
The fever of excitement ran high. Gunpowder was 
burnt; political meetings were rife ; rum flowed free- 
ly ; every man was pronounced in his position. On 
the 4th of July of that year, extraordinary celebra- 
tions took place all through the country. The day 
rang with patriotic utterances. At Warner village 



344 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

the multitudes assembled to indorse the hero of New 

Orleans. Among the sentiments or "toasts" then 

and there offered was the following, by Abner R. 

Ring : 

The Toryism of, the Revolution, changed to Federalism, and 
sustained the first Adamses reign of terror, — joined Burr's " un- 
ion of all honest men," hypocritically pretending to be the dis- 
ciples of Washington hy sacreligiously affixing his venerable 
name to their treasonable Societies, — subsequently assumed the 
name of Federal Republicans under Monroe's reign of modera- 
tion, and now claiming the title of exclusive Republicans, under 
the present reign of corruption. But Rhubarb is Rhubarb, 
Madam, call it what you please. 

On the same national day, there was another dem- 
onstration in town. This was on the top of Bald 
Mink. A large number of Jackson's admirers as- 
cended the steep declivity in the early morning. 
Such enthusiasm ruled the hour that they apparent- 
ly mounted up with wings as eagles. They carried 
their commissary stores, and did their cooking on the 
mountain. The meeting was boisterous, but success- 
ful. An address of thirty minutes' duration was de- 
livered by one of the leading men, toasts were offered, 
and the proceedings afterwards found their way into 
the public prints. David Stewart climbed a tree, and, 
hooking his crooked leg around one of its branches, 
blazed away. He added an inch of powder to each 
successive charge, and when the charge of four inches, 
solidly rammed down, exploded, his old Queen's Arm, 
though strongly griped, went into fragments. But 



GEN. JACKSON. 345 

Stewart was not cooled, in his warfare against the 
enemy, by this untoward casualty, though it corn- 
l^elled him to change " the mode and manner of 
attack." 

One ardent patriot, who shall be nameless, went 
down a precipice headlong, not less than ten feet, but 
came out unharmed, carelessly remarking, "I didn't 
know I got so nigh the aidger Whatever else hap- 
pened, Jackson was indorsed that day with unmis- 
takable emphasis. 

The great Chatham had said, "Let me make the 
hallads of a people, and I care not who makes its 
laws;" and the supporters of Gen. Jackson introduced 
ballads into this election. One of their songs was 
very popular in some parts of the country. A single 
verse will be sufficient to show the vivacity of the 
campaign. 

Tune : '* I 've kissed and I 've prattled with fifty fair maids." 

I Ve seen all the heads of departments and state, 

And I've studied them well, d' ye see ? 
And tho' some are called cunning, and others called great, 
Yet Jackson 's the hero for me. 
Bold Jackson 's the man, 
Let them say what they can, — 
Old Hickory 's the hero for me. 

The other side in this campaign should be present- 
ed, but Warner and the adjoining towns were so near- 
ly unanimous for Andrew Jackson, that the opposition 
made little or no demonstration in this vicinity. There 



346 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

was opposition, however, in the country, strong and 
resolute. Those who advocated the reelection of John 
Quincy Adams (that pure and able man), were not 
lacking for argument, and New Hampshire cast her 
vote for him as she had done in 1824. 

At the election in November, the vote of Warner 
stood thus : 

Jackson electors, 310 

Adams electors, 90 

THE RETURNS. 

The Warner people, December 6, 1828, having re- 
ceived news of Jackson's election, brought out the old 
brass field-piece to celebrate the victor}^ They took 
it up to Denny's hill. The fourth discharge was pre- 
mature, and Mitchell Gilmore, Jr., lost his right arm ; 
Capt. Safford Watson was injured in the hand ; and 
Daniel, son of Capt. Benjamin Currier, narrowly es- 
caped instant death, as the flying ramrod cut the 
clothes from his shoulder and scarred his neck. 

HENNIKER CELEBRATION. 

The 8th day of January, being the anniversary of 
Jackson's victory at New Orleans, was celebrated in 
1829 with great spirit and eclat Jackson was now 
the president-elect, and the knowledge of that fact 
added ten-fold to the pomp and excitement of the 
day. 

The Henniker celebration was one of unusual in- 



TOWN RECORDS. 347 

terest in all respects. It was conducted on a broad 
scale. The committee in charge spared no pains nor 
money necessary to make the demonstration success- 
ful. They provided dinner for a vast concourse, and 
the populace responded bountifully to the invitation 
to " come." The wheeling was never better, for not 
a flake of snow fell that season in central New Hamp- 
shire till that afternoon. The cannon stood on an em- 
inence, belching forth its continuous thunder, which 
rolled up the valley to the south side of the Mink 
Hills, resembling the jar of a perpetual earthquake. 
Frank Pierce was the young and talented orator of 
the day ; and among the invited guests, who were 
present, were Gen. Benjamin Pierce, Hon. Bodwell 
Emerson, of Hopkinton, Judge Horace Chase, Hon. 
Matthew Harvey, Benjamin E. Harriman, and others. 
The sentiment of the latter was as follows : 

Gov. John Bell, — Doomed to be buried, on the 2d Tuesday of 
March, like the great Bell of Moscow, beneath the ruins of the 
fallen fabric that supported him. 

The prediction proved to be correct, for though the 
state had gone for Bell the preceding March, and for 
Adams in November, the effect of Jackson's election 
was such that Gen. Pierce, the Jackson candidate for 
governor, was triumphantly elected in March, 1829. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1829. 

Benjamin Evans, moderator. 
Abner B. Kelley, town-clerk. 
23 



348 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

For Governor. 

Benjamin Pierce, 298 

John Bell, 69 

Representatives. 

Abner B. Kelley, Nathan S. Colby. 

Daniel Jones, ^ 

Philip Colby, Jr., \ Selectmen. 

Mitchell Gilmore, Jr., J 

Asa Pattee was appointed collector. 

The support of the poor was divided up among fif- 
teen different parties. 

Daniel Jones lived in Schoodac, near Boscawen line. 
He was a son of Jonathan Jones, whose residence was 
just within the limits of Boscawen. Mr. Jones was 
a large farmer and an active business man. He was 
extensively engaged in lumbering for many years. 
He served the town both as selectman and represent- 
ative, but died in the prime of life, leaving a number 
of sons and daughters, who are in Warner, Hopkin- 
ton, and Concord. 

Philip Colby, Jr., was a son of Hezekiah Colby, who 
came from Amesbury, and made, first, a brief stay at 
the Parade, and then settled at the Mark Colby place. 
Mr. Colby lived at Waterloo, and was both farmer and 
carpenter. He kept a store several years (in the 
neighborhood of 1820) in the building now occupied 
as a dwelling-house by Mrs. Geo. W. Osgood. He 
was post-master at Waterloo in 1829 and 1830. He 
served the town both as selectman and representa- 



EXHIBITIONS. 349 

tive. He died March, 1867, aged 78. He had two 
daughters, — one the wife of William H., and other 
the wife of Stephen S. Bean. The former has been 
dead a number of years. 

Mitchell Gilmore, Jr., was a son of John, and a 
grandson of David Gilmore, one of the early settlers. 
Mitchell was born and reared in school district No. 8. 
He learned the blacksmith business, and was engaged 
in it when he lost an arm, in December, 1828. After 
this, he was engaged several years in trade. He also 
served as selectman, town-clerk, and representative. 
Having been elected as register of deeds for Merri- 
mack county, he removed to Concord, where he still 
resides. He married a daughter of Jacob Currier of 
Warner, and they have one daughter (the wife of ex- 
Go v. Weston) and two sons. 

An elephant was on exhibition at Daniel George's, 
in 1829, the first that ever stepped foot in Warner. 

The first menagerie came in 1832. It was ex- 
hibited on a snowy, sloshy day in May, on the plat 
between Elliot C. Badger's house and the ground that 
the church now occupies. 

The first circus performance in town was in June, 
1834, on ground a little above where the late Jesse 
Savory's house stands. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1830. 

Benjamin Evans, moderator. 
Abner B. Kelley, town-clerk. 



350 HISTORY OF WARNER. 



For Governor. 




Mattliew Harvey, 


280 


Timothy Upham, 


67 



Representatives. 

Nathan S. Colby, Zebulon Davis. 
Daniel Jones, 



Mitchell Gilmore, Jr., \- Selectmen. 
Philip Colby, Jr., 

John Bean was appomted collector. 

The supi^ort of the Poor was struck off to John Bean at 

On the question of setting off the two westerly 
ranges of lots from Warner to Bradford, the vote 
stood, — affirmative, 25 ; negative, 205. 

Zebulon Davis was a son of Zebulon, who was a 
son of Capt. Francis. The first Zebulon lived at the 
Charles P. Sawyer place ; the second (now elected 
representative) lived at the Lower Village, where he 
carried on the wheelwright business through life. 
Warren Davis, now in trade at the Lower Village, is 
his son. 

Abner B. Kelley, having been elected state treas- 
urer, resigned the office of town-clerk, and the select- 
men, July 12, 1830, appointed Thomas H. Bartlett to 
fill the vacancy. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1831. 

Daniel George, moderator. 
Thomas H. Bartlett, town-clerk. 



TOWN RECORDS. 351 

¥or Governor. 

Samuel Dinsmoor, 250 

Ichabod Bartlett, 76 

llepresentatwes. 

Zebulon Davis, Benjamin E. Harriman. 

Daniel Jones, \ 

Daniel George, > Selectmen. 

Abner Woodman, ) 

Stephen Hoyt was appointed collector. 

Levi Flanders, senior, took the ]30or to support at 
$549. 

Thomas H. Bartlett was a son of Richard, who came 
from Amesbnry, and a brother to Stephen of Burnt 
Hill. He was engaged in mercantile business a large 
part of his lifetime. He died many years ago, leav- 
ing a widow, who was the daughter of John George. 

Abner Woodman was from Salem, N. H. He settled 
on Pumpkin Hill, but during the last years of his life he 
was at Warner village. He served both as selectman 
and as representative. His first wife was a Miss Hill, 
and his second, who survives, was a daughter of Ben- 
jamin Evans. 

Capt. Stephen Hoyt was born in Bradford. He 
settled in the west part of Warner, where he was en- 
gaged in farming. He commanded the old artillery 
company in its best days. In 1841 he removed to 
Sutton, and there served as collector of taxes and as 
selectman of the town, but returned to Warner, and 
died in 1866. 



352 HISTOEY OF WAENER. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1832. 

B. E. Harriman, moderator. 
Thomas H. Bartlett, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Samuel Dinsmoor, 250 

Ichabod Bartlett, 65 

Me2yresentatives. 
Benjamin E. Harriman, Daniel Jones. 

Nathan S. Colby, J 

Timothy Davis, > Selectmen. 

Cummings Marshall, ) 

The support of the poor was " struck off" to Eze- 
kiel Flanders, Jr., at $540. 

Samuel Worthley was appointed collector. 

The question of setting off the western ranges again 
came up, and Daniel George was appointed as agent 
of the town to oppose the movement. 

Timothy Davis was a son of Robert, who came from 
Amesbury, and settled on what is known as the Ben 
Davis place. Mr. Davis settled in life near his fa- 
ther's residence, on Pumpkin Hill, where he remained 
till old ao-e unfitted him for the cares of a lar^e farm. 
For the last eight or ten years of his life he lived on 
the Plain, where Mr. Stanley now resides. His old 
homestead on Pumpkin Hill is owned and occupied 
by Mr. Tucker. Mr. Davis died about the year 1861, 
leaving two children, — Mrs. Oilman A. Bean, now of 
Woburn, Mass., and Henry H. Davis, of Warner. 



TOWN RECOKDS. 353 

Cummings Marshall was born and reared on Bible 
Hill. His father, Richard Marshall, came from Hud- 
son, N. H., and settled on that hill, at the place which 
his son Nathan occupied a great many years. Cum- 
mings settled in District No. 10, where his son-in-law, 
Lemuel W. Collins, resides, and died there a few years 
ago. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1833. 

B. E. Harriman, moderator. 
Mitcliell Gilmore, Jr., town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Samuel Dinsmoor, 242 

IsTo opposition recorded. 

Representatwes. 
Daniel Jones, Nathan S. Colby. 

Timothy Davis, \ 

B. E. Harriman, > Selectmen. 

Daniel Bean, Jr., ) 

John Harriman was appointed collector. 

On the question of purchasing a farm for the poor, 
104 voted in the affirmative, and 62 in the negative. 

The moderator appointed Benjamin Evans, Daniel 
George, and John Hardy as a committee to purchase 
a farm, and all necessary stock, tools, and furniture to 
run the same. 

Voted that the Selectmen go in a body to appraise property 
and make their Inventory. 

Voted to dispense with Superintending School Committee's 
visiting schools the present year. 



354 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Voted that the Selectmen dispose of the Poor till the Commit- 
tee for that purpose furnish a Farm and House. 

The committee set themselves about their work 
without delay, and bought a farm of Cephas Hoi^gh- 
ton, to which the poor were all conveyed in the 
month of April. Said farm is at the top of the hill, 
on the old Henniker road, between Stephen Foster's 
and the Stephen K. Hoyt place. 

Daniel Bean, Jr., who, at the election of 1833, was 
chosen to the office of selectman, was born in Warner, 
Dec. 4, 1804. Nathaniel Bean, his grandfather, was 
a prominent and influential man in town for many 
years. He came from Amesbury between 1770 and 
1775, and settled on Pumpkin Hill, at the present 
Capt. Joseph Jewell place. He was a forehanded 
farmer. He built the first mills at Waterloo. He 
served as moderator, as selectman, as representative, 
and as a delegate to the convention that ratified the 
federal constitution. 

The maternal grandfather of Daniel Bean, Jr., was 
Captain Asa Pattee, and Daniel and Sally (Pattee) 
Bean were his parents. 

The subject of this sketch received his education 
mainly from the public schools of Warner, though he 
was a student for a term or two at Hopkinton acad- 
emy, where he gave attention to the higher English 
branches and to Latin. He taught school in Warner 
and the adjoining towns some six or eight winters, 







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DANIEL BEAN, JR. 355 

commencing when but seventeen years of age. His 
second school was a large and turbulent one. Five or 
six of the scholars were over twenty-one years of age, 
and some of them were bent on mischief. Mr. Bean, 
thouo-h but eiorhteen, was resolute and determined. 
For some misdemeanor he called one of the young 
men to account. The student seized a billet of wood, 
and the master seized the fire-shovel, one well-aimed 
blow from which brought order out of chaos, and se- 
cm^ed a suspension of hostilities for the rest of the 
term. 

Mr. Bean had clear and settled convictions on all 
questions of public concern, and he was not easily 
swerved. He stood firmly by his own conceptions of 
right, whether men frowned or favored. He was a 
relentless foe to rum and tobacco. He sought only 
that popularity " which, follows, not that which is run 
afler;'' still, he received the suffrages of his fellow- 
townsmen, and served several years as selectman, and 
also as representative in the General Court. 

He moved to Medford in April, 1840, and engaged 
in the baking business. He returned to Warner in 
the spring of 1843, and purchased and carried on the 
Eliezer Emerson farm. In the spring of 1851 he 
went a second time to Medford, but returned again to 
Warner in the autumn of 1852, where he died Feb. 
7, 1853, aged 48. 

Mr. Bean married, Feb. 3, 1828, Miss Martha C, 



356 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

daughter of Jacob Davis, and had Lemuel Willis, born 
April 2, 1829; Henry, b. Jan. 8, 1832; Sarah Pattee, 
b. May 7, 1835. Henry died at the age of eight 
years. Lemuel W. married, at Concord, Mass., Miss 
Sarah Wheeler, and is there engaged in business. 

Sarah P. Bean married George H. Witherle, a 
prominent merchant of Castine, Maine, where she has 
resided the last seventeen years. 



CHAPTEE XXVI. 

TOWN RECORDS — SECOND POOR-FARM — FARMERS' AND MECHAN- 
ICS' LIBRARY — CRANBERRY AND HOOP-POLE PARTIES. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1834. 

B. E. Harriman, moderator. 
M. Gilmore, Jr., towu-clerk. 

For Governor, 

William Badger, 268 

No opposition vote recorded. 

Representatives, t 

Nathan S. Colby, Timothy Davis. 

B. E. Harriman, \ 

Daniel Bean, Jr., > Selectmen. 

Asa Pattee, ) 

John Harriman was appointed collector. 

Chose a committee of five, consisting of the select- 
men, with Nathan S. Colby and Philip Colby, senior, 
added, to dispose of the poor-farm and buy another. 

The first farm (on which the poor were kept but 
one year) proved unsatisfactory. This committee 
purchased the second farm of Moses Harriman, |it 
being the one still owned by the town on Burnt Hill. 



358 HISTORY OF WARNER. 



ANNUAL MEETING, MAKCH, 1835. 

Nathan S. Colby, moderator. 
Mitchell Gilmore, Jr., town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

William Badger, 297 

Joseph Healey, 49 

Representatives. 

Timothy Davis, Philip Colby, Jr. 

Asa Pattee, 'j 

M. Gilmore, Jr., v Selectmen. 

Nathan Davis, J 

Elliot C. Badger was appointed collector. 

Nathan Davis was a son of Gen. Aqnila Davis. He 
served two years as selectman, and two as representa- 
tive. He lived at Davisville, and died there many 
years ago. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1836. 

Nathan S. Colb}^, moderator. 
Clark Sargent, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 
Isaac Hill, 268 

Scattering, 5 

Rei^resentatives. 

Philip Colby, Jr., Mitchell Gilmore, Jr. 

Nathan Davis, \ 

Abner Woodman, [-Selectmen. 

Asa Pattee, ) 

James M. Harriman was appointed collector. 



TOWN RECORDS. 359 

Voted that the Selectmen opeu the road from Nathaniel Bean's 
to Edmund S. Davis's. 

Clark Sargent was a son of Joseph Sargent, of 
Schoodac. He lived at Warner village, and was a 
painter by occupation. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1837. 

B. E. Harriman, moderator. 
Clark Sargent, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Isaac Hill, 238 

Joseph Healey, 7 

Represen tatives. 
Mitchell Gilmore, Jr., Kathan Davis. 

Abner Woodman, ^ 

John Stewart, \ Selectmen. 

Abner Watkins, ) 

James M. Harriman, collector. 

Voted to receive our proportion of the " Surplus Revenue" 
money. 

Voted that the mone}' be loaned in sums not to exceed $200, 
and not less than $50. 

Captain John Stewart lived on the south side of 
the Mink Hills, where his father settled before him in 
the wilderness. He added much during his life to the 
paternal acres. He married, for his first wife, Han- 
nah, daughter of Dea. Isaac Dalton, and died in 1851, 
leaving fouf sons and one daughter, — viz.. Rev. Isaac 
D. of Dover, Cyrus of Wisconsin, Leonard of Warner, 
John of California, and Mrs. James Bean of Warner. 



360 HISTOEY OF WAENER. 

Abner Watkins was a son of Jason, who was a son 
of the original Abner. He was born and reared at 
the Gore, but he lived many years in Lowell, Mass. 
After returning from there to Warner, he lived where 
Henry Seavey resides, and served the town as select- 
man and representative. One son of his (if no more) 
is living, viz., Geo. T. Watkins, of Kansas, who is now 
a member of the legislature of that state. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1838. 

B. E. Harriman, moderator. 
Clark Sargent, town-clerk. 



For Governor. 




Isaac Hill, 


388 


James Wilson, 


77 



Representatives. 

Nathan Davis, Abner Woodman. 

Abner Watkins, \ 

John Stewart, > Selectmen. 

Robert Thompson, ) 

Voted to poll the house on the question of making Town Clerks 
Registers of Deeds. [Affirmative vote, 94; negative vote, 115.] 
Voted that the Selectmen appoint a Collector. 

Isaac Hill, it will be observed, received a majority 
of 311, in Warner, which was larger than any other 
town in the state gave him. Claremont, the same 
day, gave James Wilson 311 majority, which was 
larger than any other town in the state gave him. 




Z^f^^^^ y^cr:^^/ 



ROBERT THOMPSON. 361 

Robert Thompson, whose name appears in the above 
record, was born at Hooksett, April 24, 1803. Of his 
remote ancestry nothing is positively known, though 
the Thompsons are found among the earliest immi- 
grants to this country. The name is spelled in not 
less than four different ways, — Thompson, Tomson, 
Thomson, and Tompson. 

Edward Thompson came in the Mayflower in 1620, 
and died Dec. 4th, between Cape Cod and Pljanouth. 
John, his brother, came in 1643. He was representa- 
tive from Middleborough, Mass., eight years, beginning 
in 1674. Archibald Thompson settled at Marblehead 
in 1637, and Edward in Salem the same year. The 
latter two were from Framingham, Suffolk county, 
England. 

Dr. Benjamin Thompson settled in Braintree. He 
was town-clerk there in 1696, and for several years 
afterwards. He left, at his death, eight children and 
twenty-eight grandchildren. 

From some one of these branches of the family 
Robert Thompson undoubtedly descended. His grand- 
father was from Newbury, Mass. He settled in Con- 
cord, N. H, where he died about the year 1801, leav- 
ing a large family of sons and daughters, one of the 
sons being Robert, the ftither of the subject of this 
sketch. This Robert married Judith, daughter of 
Benjamin Noyes, settled at Hooksett, and worked at 
the shoemakers' trade. They had two children, — 



362 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Mary, who became the wife of Jeremiah H. Wilkins, 
and Robert, now hving at Warner. 

Robert Thompson, the first, died in 1803, the very 
year that Robert the second was born. The orphan 
boy was taken by his grandmother Noyes to her 
home in Bow, where he remained till after his sister's 
marriage, when he went to live with her at Suncook. 
He took his little bundle in a handkerchief, contain- 
ing all he had in the world, and made this exchange 
of homes Feb. 9, 1818. He remained with Mr. Wil- 
kins, acting as his clerk, and as a copartner with him, 
till 1825, except for five months, when he was em- 
ployed in the store of John White, of Salisbury. In 
1825 the firm of Wilkins & Thompson was by mutual 
consent dissolved, and the junior member, after pros- 
pecting for several weeks, pitched upon Warner for 
his future home. He hired a store of John E. Kelley 
for $25 a year, purchased his stock of goods at Bos- 
ton, and, full of hope and ambition, commenced trade 
the last of June, 1825. Being then but 22 years of 
age, and looking younger than that, he was popularly 
called " the boy trader." But by enterprise and close 
attention to business, and by receiving, in payment 
for goods, certain commodities which had not hitherto 
been articles of traffic, he soon laid the foundation for 
a successful business life. 

In 1828 he had the misfortune to be burnt out. 
Speaking of the fire, the JV. H. Statesman of that day 



ROBERT THOMPSON. 363 

said, — "Wednesday, Jan. 16, 1828, the tavern house 
of Capt. John E. Kelley, of Warner, was consumed by 
fire, and a store connected therewith, occupied by 
Robert Thompson. No insurance on tlie property." 
After this fire Mr. Thompson removed to the village, 
where he has since remained. He has often acted as 
moderator at town-meetings, as selectman, and as 
town-clerk. He has also been three years a member 
of the legislature of the state. 

In 1831 Mr, Thompson married Sarah B.. daughter 
of Dr. Henry Lyman, who died in 1833. In 1835 he 
married Susan, daughter of Joseph Bartlett. Five 
children were born to this couple, viz., Sarah L., 
Rhoda B., Mary W., Robert H., and Arthur. 

Mr. Thompson's second wife died in 1849, and in 
1851 he married, for his third wife, Miss Eunice 
George, of Salisbury. 

Robert H. Thompson was in business with his fa- 
ther a few years, prior to January, 1876, when he died. 

Arthur served in the eleventh regiment three years 
during the Rebellion. He married Carrie Beckler, of 
Syracuse, N. Y., in 1867, and is now in company 
with his father. 

Mary W. Thompson married Frank L. Martin, of 
Bradford, May 3, 1866. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1839. 

B. E. Hiirriman, moderator. 
Clark Sargent, tovvu-clerk. 
24 



364 HISTORY OF WARNER. 



For Governor. 




John Page, 


364 


James Wilson, 


70 



Representatives. 
Abner Woodman, Abner Watkins. 

Robert Thompson, \ 

B. E. Harriman, > Selectmen. 

Benjamin C. Davis, ) 

Chose David Colbj tythingman. 

Benjamin C. Davis was a son of Eobert, and a 
brother to Timothy. He occupied through life the 
old homestead of his father on Pumpkin Hill, which is 
now in possession of John Osgood. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1840. 

B. E. Harriman, moderator. 
Leonard Eaton, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

John Page, 302 

Enos Stevens, 39 

Representatives. 

Abner Watkins, Asa Pattee. 

B. E. Harriman, \ 

Robert Thompson \ Selectmen. 

Benj. C. Davis, ) 

Heath Flanders was appointed Collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 
John Currier, Jr., Geo. W. Cutting, H. H. Harriman. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1841. 

B. E. Harriman, moderator. 
Leonard Eaton, town-clerk. 



FARMERS' AND MECHANICS' 


LIBRARY. 


For Governor. 




John Page, 


372 


Enos Stevens, 


45 



365 



Iie2')resentatwes. 
Asa Pattee, Eobert Thompson. 

Benj. E. Harriman, \ 

H, D. Robertson, ^ Selectmen. 

Jas. M. Harriman, ) 

Heath Flanders was appointed collector. 

James M. Harriman was a son of Moses, who came 
to Warner fiom Henniker, and settled on Burnt Hill. 
The family was originally from Plaistow. James M. 
was a coionel in the state militia. He served two 
years as representative, and repeatedly as selectman. 

FARMERS' AND MECHANICS' LIBRARY. 

The following record appears in the town books : 

Whereas, by an act of the Legislature of New Hampshire, ap- 
proved July 1, 1831, granting and authorizing persons to assume 
and exercise corporate powers in certain cases, Therefore, be it 
remembered, that, on the 20th day of November, A. D. 1841, 
we, Stephen K. Hoyt, Abner Woodman and Timothy Davis, with 
many others, have this day associated, united and formed a Li- 
brary Company, and do hereby assume and bear the name and 
title of '' Farmers' and Mechanics' Library Association," in the 
town of Warner. 

By order of the Society. 

Hiram Buswell, Clerk. 
A true copy, attest. 

Leonard Eaton, Town Clerk. 



366 HISTOKY OF WARNER. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1842. 



B. E. Harri 


man. 


moderator. 




Ira Harvey, 


tow] 


11- clerk. 




For 


Governor. 




Henry Hubbard, 






280 


John H. White, 






43 


Enos Stevens, 






29 


Daniel Hoit, 






13 



Representatives. 

Eobert Thompson, John Stewart. 

Jas. M. Harriman, \ 

Enos Collins, >■ Selectmen. . 

James Davis, ) 

Franklin Simonds was appointed collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 
John Currier, Jr., J. M. Chick, J. AV. Perking. 

James Davis was the youngest son of Gen. Aquila. 
His home was at Davisville, but he died before the 
expiration of the year for which he was elected as 
selectman. 

Saturday, June 11, 1842, was a winter day. Snow 
fell without ceasing throughout New Hampshire, from 
morning till night. While it disappeared as it came 
on the lowlands, it accumulated to considerable depth 
on the hills, and strong, healthy sheep, that were left 
in the pastures, were frozen to death in many cases. 
The selectmen of Warner sold the building of the 
road that day around under the ledge at Stevensville. 



DOMINANT PARTY DIVIDED. 367 

CRANBERRY AND HOOP-POLE PARTIES, 

At this time (1842) the dominant political party in 
Warner was rent by internal discord. It was split 
into two factions, or wings, — one wing being called 
the " Cranberry party," and the other the " Hoop- 
pole party." It is not difficult to account for the 
origin of these names. B. E. Harriman owned a large 
cranberry meadow, and he and his family were some- 
what prominent in one wing. H. D. Robertson car- 
ried on an extensive business in coopering. He 
bought hoop-poles by the dozen cords, and he and his 
personal friends were leaders in the other wing. 
Thus the names are accounted for ; but it is not easy 
to explain the cause of the division. It does not ap- 
pear that any vital principle was in jeopardy. It does 
not appear that either faction was promulgating her- 
esy, political or religious. All worshipped at the same 
political shrine, and voted the same general ticket. 
But yet the lines were distinctly drawn, and the con- 
test was sharp and exciting. The two armies were 
about equal in numbers and strength, and victory 
perched first on this banner and then on that ; more 
frequently, perhaps, there was a drawn battle, and 
honors were easy. In 1846 neither wing could elect 
a representative, and this defeat of both factions led 
to a cessation of hostilities in 1847, and to subsequent 
concord and good-fellowship. 



368 HISTORY OF WARNER. 



ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1843. 



Erastus Wilkins, moderator. 
Ira Harvey, town-clerk. 



For Governor. 




Henry Hubbard, 


231 


John H. White, 


64 


Anthon}'- Colby, 


19 


Daniel Hoit, 


13 



Representatives. 
H. D. Robertson, Eobert Thompson. 

Enos Collins, \ 

H. D. Eobertson, v Selectmen. 

Stephen Bartlett, ) 

Eranklin Simonds, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 

J. W. Perkins, J. M. Chick, Nathaniel Page. 

Voted that the use of the Town Meeting House be granted to 
all Religious Societies in their turn. 

Voted to buy Joseph Sawyer's farm, if the buying of said farm 
will prevent the road that is laid out near said Sawyer's from 
being made. 

Enos Collins was a son of Enos, who came from 
Amesbury, and settled on Bible Hill. In his early 
days he was much engaged in school-teaching ; but 
his leading business through life was farming. Dr. 
Wm. S. Collins, of Nashua, is his son, and another son 
is in Colorado. 

Stephen Bartlett was a son of Richard, and a grand- 
son of Simeon, one of the proprietors of Warner. 



TOWN RECORDS. 369 

Stephen occupied through life the farm on which he 
was born, and which is now in possession of one or 
more of his sons. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1814. 

Robert Thompson, moderator. 
Ira Harvey, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

John H. Steele, 238 

John H. White, 45 

Daniel Hoit, 35 

Anthony Colby, 30 

Represen tatives. 

Harrison D. Robertson, Enos Collins. 

Stephen Bartlett, \ 

Levi Flanders, >- Selectmen. 

Nathaniel A. Davis, ) 

Franklin Simonds, collector. 

Super inte7iding School Committee. 

J. M. Chick, H. H. Harriman, Jesse D. Currier. 

Levi Flanders was a son of Levi, and a grandson 
of Zebulon, and his home was at the North village. 
About the year 1868 he removed to Missouri, and 
there established a new home. His health soon gave 
way, and he died a few months after his settlement in 
that distant state. 

Nathaniel A. Davis was another of the sons of Gen. 
Aquila, and his home through life was at Davisville. 
There were his mills, and there he was engaged 
largely in the lumber business. He died several 



370 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

years since, leaving his sons in possession of the mill 
property. 

At the presidential election of 1844, the Polk electors received 
331 votes ; Clay, 35 ; Birney, 34. 

On the question, " Shall capital punishment be abolished ?" 
164 voted yea, and 169 nay. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1845. 

Erastus Wilkins, moderator. 
Ira Harvey, town-clerk. 



For Governor. 




John H. Steele, 


231 


Daniel Hoit, 


41 


Anthony Colby, 


22 


John H. White, 


16 



Representatives. 
Enos Collins, Daniel Bean, Jr. 

Levi Flanders, \ 

Nathaniel A. Davis, > Selectmen. 
H. H. Harriman, J 

Asa Pattee, collector. 

Superintetiding School Committee. 

W. Harriman, J. Currier, Jr., H. W. Woodman. 

Henry H. Harriman was the oldest son of B. E, 
Harriman, and was born July 11, 1813. In his early 
days he was a successful and popular school-teacher. 
Later in life he was both wheelwright and farmer, but 
was better known as a practical surveyor, and as ad- 
ministrator in the settlement of estates. In these two 
latter branches of business he found congenial em- 



TOWN EECORDS. 371 

ployment most of the time for many of the last years 

of his life. He served the town as selectman and as 

representative. He fell dead in his field, April 18, 

1878, aged 64. 

At a meeting legally holden Sept. 3, 1845, — 

Voted that the Selectmen pay for the board of Moody W. 
Flanders, at the Asylum for the Insane at Concord, so long as 
they may think proj^er. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1846. 

Erastus Wilkins, moderator. 
Ira Harvey, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Anthony Colby, 25 

Jared W. Williams, 315 

Nathaniel S. Berry, 69 



Representatives. 



None elected. 



Thomas Colby, \ 

J. M. Harriraan, >- Selectmen. 

Jacob Jones, ) 

Wm. R. Sargent, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 
H. W. Woodman, A. B. Kelley, James W. Sargent. 

Erastus Wilkins was born in Concord, was clerk in 
the store of Robert Thompson a number of years, and 
was afterwards in trade for himself, both at the Lower 
Village, and at the Centre. He married a daughter 
of Stephen George, and the family now resides in 
Boston. 



372 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Thomas Colby was a son of Philip, of District No. 
10. He carried on the business of farming; near the 
old homestead till about fifteen years ago, when he 
removed to Wilmot, where he and his son are engaged 
in the same vocation. 

Jacob Jones was a brother to Daniel, was born in 
Boscawen, where he lived many years after his ma- 
turity, was afterwards a resident of the Schoodac dis- 
trict in Warner, and then of Warner village. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1847. 

H. D. Robertson, moderator. 
Moses D. Wheeler, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Jared W. Williams, 336 

Nathaniel S. Berry, 54 

Anthony Colby, 30 

Representatives. 
J. M. Harriman, Daniel Bean, Jr. 

H. H. Harriman, \ 

Geo. A. Pillsbury, > Selectmen. 

John Currier, ) 

Asa Pattee, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 
A. B. Kelley, W. Harriman, J. S. Herrick. 

John Currier, Jr., was a son of Jacob, and a grand- 
son of Joseph. He occupied the homestead of his an- 
cestors throug:h life. He was both a selectman and 



TOWN EECORDS. 373 

deputy sheriff a number of years, but he died when a 
young man, about the year 1860. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1848. 

H. D. Eobertson, moderator. 
Moses D. Wheeler, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Jared W. Williams, 348 

Nathaniel S. Berry, 91 

Representatives. 
James M. Harriman, Franklin Simonds. 

Thomas Colby, ^ 

Jacob Jones, V Selectmen. 

Walter Harriman, J 

The record says, — 

And the said Walter Harriman came forward, and in open 
Town Meeting, then and there, declined serving as Selectman. 

Then said inhabitants of said town chose Abner Woodman for 
third Selectman. 

Wm. R. Sargent was appointed collector. 

Superintending School Committee. ' 

A. B. Kelley, W. Harriman, J. S. Herri ck. 

Moses D. Wheeler is a son of Jeremiah. He has 
been engaged most of his lifetime in the business 
of blacksmithing at Warner village, but has served 
the town several times in each of the capacities of 
town-clerk, selectman, and representative. 



CHAPTER XXYII. 

TOWN RECORDS— NEW TOWN HALL RAILROAD OPENING THE 

BANKS CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION HOMESTEAD EXEMP- 
TION. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1849. 

H. D. Robertson, moderator. 
Win. Carter, Jr., town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Samuel Dinsmoor, 337 

Nathaniel S. Berry, 54 

Levi Chamberlain, 22 

Hepresentatives. 

Franklin Simonds, Walter Harriman. 

Geo. A. Pillsbury, ^ 

Thomas Colby, \ Selectmen. 

Jacob Jones, ) 

John Harriman, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 

A. B. Kelley, J. S. Herrick, W. Harriman. 

NEW TOWN HALL. 

Voted to raise a committee to sell the town house, select a site 
for a new one, and report a i:»lan for the same at an adjourned 
meeting. 

Robert Thompson, Nathaniel A. Davis, and Cum- 

mings Marshall were appointed. 





y^€^ / t/'V ; 



^^ 




GEORGE ALFRED PILLSBURY. 375 

George Alfred Pillsbury. John and Snsan (Wad- 
leigli) Pillsbury, of Sutton, had three sons and one 
daughter, — viz., Simon W., George Alfred, born Aug. 
29, 1816, Dolly W. (Mrs. Cummings), John S., and 
Benjamin F. 

Simon W. died in 1836, at the age of 24. He was 
a close student, and was believed to be, at the time of 
his death, one of the best mathematicians in the state. 
John S. became identified with Warner not far from 
1844. From that time till 1851 he was eno-ao^ed in 
mercantile business in town, either as clerk or propri- 
etor. He married his wife (Miss Mahala Fisk) in 
Warner. After the close of 1851 he was engaged in 
trade a few years at East Andover and at Concord. 
In 1855 he settled at St. Anthony's Falls, Minne- 
sota, and engaged in the hardware business. From 
1863 to 1875 he served in the state senate. He was 
elected governor of Minnesota in 1875, and was re- 
elected in 1877, the elections occurring biennially. 
He is now largely interested in the manufacture of 
flour. Benjamin F. remained in Sutton till 1878, em- 
ployed mainly in farming, but filling acceptably the 
offices of selectman and representative. In 1878 he 
removed to Granite Falls, Minn. 

George A. Pillsbury, the subject of this notice, went 
to Boston in 1836 as a clerk at the Boylston Market, 
but returned to Sutton in 1837, and before he was 21 
years of age was engaged there in the stove business. 



376 HISTOEY OF WARNER. 

In this he continued till 1840, when he came to War- 
ner as a clerk in the store of John H. Pearson. For 
about eight years he was actively engaged in mercan- 
tile business in Warner ; then for a year or more he 
was in a wholesale dry-goods house in Boston, In 
1849 he reentered the mercantile business in War- 
ner, having bought Ira Harvey's stock of goods, and 
taken a lease of his store. In the spring of 1851 he 
sold back his interests to Mr. Harvey, and went out 
of mercantile business entirely. 

Mr. Pillsbury served as post-master at Warner from 
1844 to 1849, as selectman in 1847 and 1849, and as 
representative in 1850 and 1851. He was chairman 
of the committee, appointed by the Merrimack county 
delegation in 1851, -for building the new jail at Con- 
cord. In the fall of the same year he was appointed 
purchasing agent of the Concord Railroad Corporation, 
which position he filled for nearly twenty-five years. 
During this time his purchases amounted to from one 
hundred thousand to two hundred thousand dollars 
per annum. He removed to Concord in 1852. In 
1866 he was elected president of the First National 
Bank, of Concord, and he held this position till March, 
1878, when he resigned on account of leaving for the 
West. At this time the bank was the strongest in the 
state. He was elected in 1867 the first president of 
the National Savings Bank, at Concord, and he held 
this position till 1874, when he resigned. He was 



GEORGE ALFRED PILLSBURY. 377 

several times elected a member of the city council of 
Concord. In March, 1876, he was elected mayor of 
the city by a large majority, and was reelected to the 
same office in March, 1877. He gave to the city of 
Concord the fine-toned bell now on the Board of 
Trade building. He and his son, Charles A., substan- 
tially paid for the new organ in the First Baptist 
Church, of Concord, which cost $4,000. In March, 
1878, he sold out his real estate interests in Concord, 
and removed to Minnesota. 

Mr. Pillsbury, May 9, 1841, married Margaret S. 
Carleton, and they have had born to them two sons 
and one daughter, — viz., Charles A. [see College grad- 
uates], Mary Ida, born at Warner, April, 1848, died 
May, 1849, and Fred. Carleton, born August, 1852. 

Fred. C, in 1872, went to Minneapolis as a clerk 
for his uncle, John S. Pillsbury, and he is now a mem- 
ber of the large firm of C. A. Pillsbury & Co. 

At an adjourned meeting, June 4, 1849, the committee on the 
town house presented a report which was accepted. 

Voted to adopt so much of the Committee's report as relates to 
the removing of the old house and repairing the same. 

Chose N. A. Davis, C. Marshall and Philip Colby a Committee 
to remove and repair the same. 

Voted to leave it discretionary with the committee as to the 
length which the j^osts shall be cut. 

Voted to leave the selection of a site for the house to the above 
committee. 

Voted that the Selectmen be authorized to borrow $800 of the 
surplus revenue to alter and repair the town house. 

On the 6th day of June, 1849, Benjamin Wadleigh, 



378 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Asa Page, and John Pillsbury, all of Sutton, as a com- 
mittee for that purpose, met at the town-house in 
Warner, heard all persons who desired to be heard, 
and appraised the pews in the town-house at 75 cents 
each. The number of pews being fiiftj-six, the sum 
total was $42. 

At a legal meeting, held Aug. 11, 1849, the commit- 
tee chosen to rebuild the town-house declining longer 
to serve, a motion to adjourn was made, which was 
decided in the affirmative. So the " house under the 
ledge" was left on its foundations. 

RAILROAD OPENING. 

On the 21st day of September, 1849, the Concord 
& Clarernont Railroad was formally opened to War- 
ner, and the event was duly celebrated. A train of 
nine cars was run down to Concord in the morning, 
carrying 500 people from Warner and other towns. 
At eleven o'clock, the train, augmented by the addi- 
tion of some nine cars and' 800 passengers, started on 
the return. So heavy was the train that two locomo- 
tives were required, one being placed in front and the 
other at the rear. The front cars were open stake 
cars. There was a crowd of persons standing on the 
front end of the first car, and supporting themselves 
by putting their hands upon the tender. At the 
crossing by the new prison the coupling between the 
head locomotive and the front car broke, the engine 



RAILROAD OPENING. 379 

shot ahead, and those who were leaning on the tender 
fell forward upon the track. The train was forced 
forward by the locomotive at the rear. Matthew 
Harvey Gould, a young man about twenty years of 
age, a son of Col. Enoch Gould, and brother of the con- 
ductor, Moses E. Gould, fell in such a 230sition that both 
legs were crushed and nearly cut off below the knee. 
Two or three others were severely but not fatally 
injured. The wounded were immediately taken back 
to Concord, and surgical aid was summoned. Young 
Gould died a few minutes after reaching Concord, 
and before amputation could have been performed. 

This sad affair cast a dark shadow over all the sub- 
sequent proceedings of the day. But the train went 
on to Warner, where it arrived at one o'clock. A pro- 
cession was immediately formed, under the guidance 
of Daniel Bean, Jr., as marshal, which marched 
through Main street, led by the Fisherville band, and 
back to the stand provided for the speakers near the 
depot. After bountiful refreshments, provided by the 
citizens of Warner, had been partaken of. Gov. Hill, 
Col. Cyrus Barton, M. W. Tappan, E. B. West, W. 
Harriman, J. A. Gilmore, and Gen. Low (the president 
of the road), all made speeches of an encouraging and 
congratulatory nature. 

Late in the afternoon the train returned to Con- 
cord, with nothing further to mar the festivities of the 

occasion. 
25 



380 HISTOEY OF WARNER. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1850. 

H. D. Robertson, moderator. 
Wm. Carter, Jr., town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Samuel Dinsmoor, 320 

Nathaniel S. Berry, 56 

Levi Chamberlain, 26 

Representatives. 
Walter Harriman, George A. Pillsbury. 

John Currier, Jr., ^ 

Origen Dimond, > Selectmen. 

James Bean, } 

Im Dimond was appointed collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 
E. W. Fuller, S. S. Bean, Parsons Whidden. 

William Carter, Jr. (son of William, senior), was en- 
gaged in trade, first at the George stand in the Lower 
Village, then at the Robertson stand at the Centre. 
His wife was a daughter of Elliot C. Badger, and his 
only surviving son is William S. Carter (now of Leba- 
non), who served in the Eleventh N. H. Regiment. 
Mr. Carter died in 1851, aged about 36. 

Capt. Origen Dimond was a son of Isaac, and a 
o-randson of Ezekiel, one of the proprietors of Warner. 
He was born in that district called Joppa, and he 
remained on the old homestead till advancing years 
beo-an to unfit him for the management of a large 
farm, when he secured a few acres and a pleasant cot- 
tage in the village, where he now resides. 



THE BANKS. 381 

James Bean, a son of Nathaniel, junior, and a 
grandson of Nathaniel, senior, is one of the leading 
farmers of Warner. He was born, where he has al- 
ways resided, at the foot of Monument hill. His first 
wife was Marinda Stewart, who died young, and his 
second is Mary, both daughters of Capt. John Stewart. 
Two of Mr. Bean's sons were in the army during the 
Rebellion. 

Having now reached, in the town records, the mid- 
dle of the century, and approximated the present, 
these brief notices of persons elected to office will be 
generally omitted. 

THE BANKS. 

At the June session of the legislature of 1850 a 
charter was obtained for the Warner Bank, with a 
capital of $50,000. The bank was soon organized. 
Its presidents were Joshua George, Dr. Jason H. 
Ames, Franklin Simonds, and N. G. Ordway. Its 
cashiers were Francis Wilkins and George Jones. 
The latter served two years in the state senate. 

This bank was closed, and the Kearsarge National 
Bank, with a like capital, was organized in 1867. The 
first president of this bank was N. G. Ordway. He 
was succeeded by Joshua George, at whose decease 
Mr. Ordway was again elected president, which posi- 
tion he still holds. The cashiers of this bank have 
been George Jones and Oilman C. George. 



382 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

In 1874 the Kearsarge Savings Bank was organized 
in connection with the National Bank, and the two 
are substantially under one and the same manage- 
ment. 

Joshua George was born at the Lower Village, 
where Jonathan Badger now resides, March 24, 1791. 
He was a son of John and Mary (Harriman) George, 
who were natives of Haverhill, Mass., and who, after 
their marriage, settled in Hopkinton, N. H. They 
afterwards moved from Hopkinton to Warner, and 
from Warner to Topsham, Vt., where they died. 

At the time the family removed to Topsham, Joshua 
was fourteen years of age. At the age of twenty- 
two he commenced driving cattle and sheep from 
Topsham to Brighton, a distance of 150 miles. He 
took down a drove through Hanover and New Lon- 
don, over Kimball's hill, through Warner, Hopkinton, 
Nashua, &c., to Brighton, usually once in two weeks. 
He followed this course for seven years, making each 
trip without assistance. He began to buy in Warner 
while living in Topsham, and when thirty years of 
age he came to Warner and settled at the place which 
was ever after his home. His first wife (a Miss Cres- 
sey of Bradford) lived but a year after her marriage. 
His second wife. Miss Ann F. Upton, was also of Brad- 
ford. She died in middle age, and all her children 
died young, except John, and Mrs. Frank Wilkins. 
Several years after her decease, Mr. George married, 





^^^^^'^^t^<,,^^^ /./__-^.^t^^'''>'-^ V^^ 



JOSHUA GEOEGE. 383 

for his third wife, a daughter of Col. Moses Gerrish, of 
Boscawen. 

The subject of this notice was an active, persever- 
ing man during his whole life. He dealt largely in 
cattle, and was always ready for a trade of any kind. 
He was president of Warner Bank for a number of 
years after its organization in 1850. He was also 
president of the National Bank, in which office he 
continued till his death, at the age of 84. He was 
always prompt to the minute to meet every engage- 
ment, and he had no patience with a dilatory man. 
He was very particular and exact in all his official 
duties. If he owed a debt he paid it when due, 
though he had to ride all night for that purpose, and 
if a man owed him he exacted pay according to con- 
tract. He valued every dollar he earned. He was 
an " everlasting talker," but if he saw difficulty ahead, 
he at once became silent. He shunned a quarrel as a 
pestilence. He was no politician, and was never a 
candidate for office. He had a keen sense of the 
ridiculous, and the man who could outdo him in story- 
telling was rarely found. He was genial and kind in 
his family. 

His son John fitted for college, studied law with 
Chief-Justice Perley, and with George, Foster & San- 
born, at Concord, and was admitted to the bar in 1864. 
In 1863 and 1864 he served on the stafi" of Gov. 
Gilmore, with the rank of colonel. His father had 



384 HISTORY OP WARNER. 

large real estate interests in Chicago and Sycamore, 
111., and for sixteen years, as his father's attorney, he 
was directly and indirectly attending to those inter- 
ests. He is now living at the old homestead in War- 
ner. Mrs. Wilkins, the daughter of Joshua George, 
died in 1878, aged 43. 

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 
At a legal meeting, held Oct. 8, 1850, Abner B. 
Kelley and Leonard Eaton were chosen delegates to 
the constitutional convention of that year. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1851. 

H. D. Robertson, moderator. 
Moses J). Wheeler, town-clerk. 

I^or Governor. 

Samuel Dinsmoor, 242 

John Atwood, 128 

Thomas E. Sawyer, 20 

Mepresentatives. 

Geo. A. Pillsbury, Leonard Eaton. 

John Currier, Jr., ") 

Origen Dimond, > Selectmen. 

James Bean, J 

Ira Dimond, collector. 

ISuper intending School Committee. 

Dr. AVhidden, S. S. Bean, H. H. Harriman. 

HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION. 

The sense of the qualified voters was taken on the 
following question : 



HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION. 385 

Is it expedient for the legislature to enact a law to exempt the 
homesteads of families from attachment and levy or sale on execu- 
tion, to the amount of $500 ? 

The result in Warner was, yeas, 114; nays, 134. 

The question had been submitted to the people by 
the legislature of 1850. In the state the affirmative 
of the question prevailed, and the law was enacted in 
June, 1851. 

The sense of the voters was also taken on the ques- 
tion of accepting the new state constitution which the 
convention had framed. The constitution was divided 
into fifteen sections or parts, and each part was voted 
on separately. There was an average of about 20 
votes, in Warner, in favor of these propositions, and 
an average of about 250 votes against them. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1852. 

H. D. Robertson, moderator. 
Robert Thompson, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Noah Martin, 2S0 

John Atwood, 67 

Thomas E. Sawyer, 34 

Mepresentatives. 
Leonard Eaton, H. H. Harriman. 

Levi Collins, "\ 

Wm. R. Sargent, V Selectmen. 

Abner Woodman, j 

Daniel Savory, collector. 



386 . HISTORY OF WARNER." 

Step er intending School Committee. 
A. B. Kelley, E. B. West, S. W. Colby. 

TOWK-HOUSE AGAIN. 

Chose N. A. Davis, Erastns Wilkins, and R. Thomp- 
son a committee to take into consideration the ques- 
tion of a new town-house, and to report at a subse- 
quent meeting. 

After the defeat of the state constitution in March, 
1851, the convention reassembled, and presented cer- 
tain amendments which were submitted to the people 
in three questions. The result in Warner was as fol- 
lows : • 

1. On the question of abolishing all religious tests 
from the constitution, there were 22 yeas and 157 
nays. 

2. On the question of abolishing a property quali- 
fication, there were 33 yeas and 109 nays. 

3. On the question of having amendments in the 
future proposed by the legislature instead of a con- 
vention, there were 11 yeas and 146 nays. 

The second proposition (and that only) was carried 
in the state, and the property qualification fell from 
the constitution. 

Voted to instruct the Selectmen to get the Town Hall insured, 
when said House passes into their hands. 

Voted that an agent he appointed to sell the old House when 
the actual pew-holders can be settled with for 75 cents a pew. 





A. 



^A^^ 




eiA4/€yt^ 



IRA HARVEY. 387 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1853. 

H. D. Robertson, moderator. 
Robert Thompson, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Noali Martin, 301 

John H. White, 56 

James Bell, ' 12 

Representatives. 

H. D. Robertson, Ira Harvey. 

Levi Collins, ") 

Reuben Clough, Jr., >- Selectmen. 

Robert Thompson, ) 

George Savory, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 
A. B. Kelley, E. B. West, H. 0. Howland. 

Ira Harvey. David Harvey, with his family (in- 
cluding his son Abner), came from Amesbiiry. They 
settled on an excellent farm on Tory Hill. Abner 
occupied the family homestead during his lifetime, 
and was a forehanded farmer. He had a large family 
of sons and daughters. The names of the sons were 
David, Abner, Jr., and Ira. 

Ira, the youngest but one of twelve children, was 
born December 3, 1809. In childhood and youth he 
suffered from infirm health, and gave evidence of 
being unsuited to the hard, out-door labors of the 
farm. He attended the schools of his own district 



388 HISTORY OF WARNER. " 

punctually, and lengthened out his school-days by 
gohig mto adjoining districts. He also attended 
school at Hopkinton academy one term, in the fall of 
1828. 

In September, 1829, at the age of nineteen, he 
went as clerk into the store of Jeremiah Paige at 
Bradford, and remained till June, 1834. Then, after 
spending a few months at home on the farm, he be- 
came a clerk in the store of Nathan S. Colby at War- 
ner. Here he remained till February, 1837. From 
April to July, 1837, he acted as clerk for Robert 
Thompson ; then hired the Colby store, and com- 
menced a successful business for himself on a very 
small capital. He continued at this stand most of the 
time till 1873, when he retired finally from active 
business. He has served frequently as town-clerk, 
and has also represented the town in the legislature. 

Mr. Harvey was married, Sept. 11, 1838, to Mary, 
daughter of James Bean, and the children of these 
parents are Mrs. Baxter, Mrs. Wilson, Frederick, Ab- 
bie, and Dr. Luther. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1854. 

H. D. Robertson, moderator. 
R. Thompson, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Nathaniel B. Baker, 257 

Jared Perkins, 75 

James Bell, 24 



TOWN RECORDS. 389 

JRe2Jresentatives. 
H. D. Kobertson, Levi Collins. 

Samuel W. Colby, \ 

Lewis Holmes, > Selectmen. 

J. M. Harriman, ) 

Wm. R. Sargent, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 

H. 0. Rowland, S. S. Bean, N. J. Pinkham. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1855. 

H. D. Robertson, moderator. 
George T. Watkins, town-clerk. 

For Gomrnor. 

Ealph Metcalf, 177 

Nathaniel B. Baker, 245 

Scattering, 10 

Representatives. 

Levi Collins, Benjamin C. Davis. 

Lewis Holmes, \ 

J. M. Harriman, v Selectmen. 

Reuben Clougli, Jr., ) 

George Savory, collector. 

Superintending School Gomtnittee. 

H. 0. Rowland, K. J. Pinkbam, A. B. Kelley. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1856. 

H. D. Robertson, moderator. 
Geo. T. Watkins, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Ralph Metcalf, 183 

John S. Wells, 284 



390 HISTOEY OF WARNER. 

Meprese^itatives. 

Benjamin C. Davis, Lewis Holmes. 

A. W. Harriman, \ 

E. M. Dunbar, > Selectmen. 

S. C. Pattee, ) 

George Savory, collector. 

■Superintending School Committee. 
H. 0. Rowland, N. J. Pinkham, L. Willis. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1857. 

H. D. Robertson, moderator. 
Geo. T. Watkins, town-clerk. 

Fo7' Governor. 

William Haile, 185 

John S. WeUs, 279 

Hepresentatives. 

Lewis Holmes, Samuel W. Colby. 

A. W. Harriman, ^ 

E. M. Dunbar, > Selectmen. 

S. C. Pattee, j 

Franklin Simonds, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 

A. B. Kelley, H. H. Harriman, L. W. Collins. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1858. 

H. D. Robertson, moderator. 
Geo. T. Watkins, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

William Haile, 195 

Asa P Gate, 283 



TOWN RECOEDS. 391 

Mepresentatives. 

Samuel W, Colby, Walter Harriman. 

Stephen C. Pattee, \ 

Moses J. Collins, > Selectmen. 

George Foster, ) 

Franklin Simonds, collector. 

Superintending School Comtnittee. 

L. W. Collins, E. M. Dunbar, W. Harriman. 

Chose Levi Savory to take charge of the town hall. 
Voted that the town hall shall not be let short of $5 per even- 
ing, and shall be free for the use of the town people. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1859. 

H. D. Robertson, moderator. 
Oilman A. Bean, town-clerk. 

For Governor, 
Ichabod Goodwin, 198 

Asa P. Cate, 278 

Mepresen tatives. 

Cummings Marshall, Ephraim M. Dunbar. 

George Foster, \ 

John Rogers, \ Selectmen. 

Jacob R. Sargent, ) 

H. H. Harriman, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 
S. C. Pattee, Oscar B. Harriman, B. Warren Couch. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1860. 

H. D. Robertson, moderator. 
G. A. Bean, town-clerk. 



392 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

For Governor. 

Ichabod Goodwin, 217 

Asa P. Gate, 279 

Representatives. 
. C. Marsliall, E. M. Dunbar. 

Nathaniel A. Davis, \ 

Moses J. Collins, \ Selectmen. 

J. M. Harriman, ) 

H. H. Harriman, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 
S. C. Pattee, B. W. Couch, Samuel Davis, Jr. 

Harrison Darling Robertson, whose name has 
frequently appeared on the preceding pages, was a 
native of the adjoining town of Hopkinton. The 
public records inform us that John Robertson came 
from England and settled at Salisbury, Mass., and 
that he was killed by the Indians at that place Oct. 
21, 1676. Also, that Wm. Robertson came from Eng- 
land and settled in Concord, Mass., as early as 1670, 
and that both of these left many descendants. 

Harrison D. Robertson was probably a descendant 
of one of these families. He was born at Hopkinton 
(old village) in 1806. His father's name was John, 
and his mother was a Darling. Mr. Robertson came 
to Warner when a youth or young man, and engaged 
in the mercantile business, which occupied his atten- 
tion, more or less, throuorh life. He also carried on 




o^^^^ 



-M- 



TOWN EECORDS. 393 

the coopering business on an extensive scale. He 
was one of Warner's most active and influential men 
a great many years, and was much in public life. He 
held the office of post-master fourteen years, of repre- 
sentative four years, and of moderator and selectman 
a great number of years. 

His first wife was a daughter of Hon. Benjamin 
Evans, and his second (who survives him) a daughter 
of Dudley Bailey. He died in 1862, aged 56, leaving 
one son, — John E. Robertson, now of Concord. Mrs. 
E. H. Carroll, of Warner, is his grand-daughter. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1861. 

Walter Harriman, moderator. 
G. A. Bean, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Nathaniel S. Berry, 194 

George Stark, 271 

Representatives. 
Augustine W. Harriman, Stephen C. Pattee. 

Samuel W. Colby, \ 

John P. Colby, > Selectmen. 

Hezekiah B. Harriman, ) 

H. H. Harriman, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 
S. C. Pattee, B. W. Couch, S. Davis, Jr. 

Voted that interest be charged on all taxes unpaid on tlie first 
day of January next after the taxes are assessed. 



CHAPTEE XXYIII. 

THE WAR — STATE AID — BOUNTIES TO SOLDIERS RAISING THE 

BID — BOUNTY-JUMPERS — MORE MEN THE ARMY MOVES. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1862. 

Walter Harriman, moderator. 
Gilman A. Bean, town-clerk 

For Governor. 

Nathaniel S. Berry, 191 

George Stark, ' 238 

Paul J. Wheeler, 26 

JRepresentatives. 
A. W. Harriman, S. C. Pattee. 

Samuel W. Colby, \ 

John P. Colby, V Selectmen. 

H. B. Harriman, ) 

Charles P. Rowell, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 

Rev. Henry Stetson. 

STATE AID. 

Voted that the Selectmen be instructed to make diligent in- 
quiry, and if they find any families that desire and need assist- 
ance, who come under the Laws passed last June in regard to fur- 
nishing aid to volunteers in the U. S. service, that they should 
furnish such an amount as in their opinion shall seem just and 
proper. 



TOWN EECORDS. 395 

BOUNTIES TO SOLDIERS. 

At a legal meeting, held Aug. 21, 1862, to act on 
the petition of Reuben Porter and others in regard to 
paying bounties to volunteers, Stephen C. Pattee act- 
ing as moderator, — 

Voted to adopt the resolution introduced by George Jones, 
which is as follows : 

Resolved, That the town of Warner will pay each volunteer 
$150, to be paid when the soldier is mustered into the service of the 
United States to fill up our quota under the first call of the Pres- 
ident for three hundred thousand volunteers, agreeably to the 
warrant. 

Voted to authorize the Selectmen to borrow a sum of money 
not exceeding $10,000, to pay the bounty to volunteers agreeably 
to the foregoing resolution of George Jones. 

At a subsequent meeting, held Sept. 15, 1862, Sam- 
uel Davis, Jr., acting as moderator, — 

Voted that the town of Warner indemnify the Selectmen from 
all loss, cost or expense to which they may be subjected by rea- 
son of borrowing money on the credit of said town, agreeably to 
a vote passed by said town on the 21st day of August, 1862, to 
pay volunteers $150 each. 

The reason does not appear why indemnificatioli 

was thought to be necessary in this case more than in 

others ; nor can the reader understand how the second 

vote could indemnify the selectmen more than the 

first, as a vote of instructions carries indemnification 

with it. 

Voted that the Selectmen be instructed to pay Walter Harri- 
man $150 as town bounty. 

[The individual referred to here has never called 

for nor received said bounty.] 
26 



396 HISTORY OF WARNER. 



ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1863. 



Robert Thompson, moderator. 
G. A. Bean, town-clerk. 



For Governor. 




Joseph A. Gilmore, 


96 


Ira A. Eastman, 


261 


Walter Harriman, 


103 



Representatives. 
John P. Colby, Hezekiah B. Harriman. 

Samuel W. Colby, "j 

Moses D. Wheeler, V Selectmen. 

Elijah R. Gilmore, j 

Charles P. Powell, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 
Henry Stetson, S. C. Pattee, L. W. Collins. 

Voted to instruct our representatives to oppose the purchase of 
a County Poor Farm. 

One person who received votes for governor at this 
election was not a candidate of any organized party, 
but was voted for by such as were dissatisfied with 
the regular candidates, or with one of those candi- 
dates. 

At a meeting, held Sept. 19, 1863, to act on the 
petition of Oilman A. Bean and others, — 

To see if the Town will vote to pay $300 to each drafted man 
or his substitute, — on motion of B. F. Harriman, Voted to in- 
struct the Selectmen to pay each conscript, or his substitute, 
$300, ten days after being mustered into the service of the 
United States. 



TOWN RECORDS. 397 

Voted that the Selectmen are hereby authorized and directed 
to borrow the money and give town notes suflficient to pay each 
drafted man, or his substitute, $300, agreeably to the resolution 
of B. F. Harriman, as just passed. 

A subsequent meeting was held Dec. 4, 1863, and 
the selectmen were authorized to fill the quota of the 
town, " under the last call of the president for 300,000 
volunteers," and to advance the bounty money offered 
to volunteers by the United States and by the state 
of New Hampshire ; also, to borrow a sufficient sum 
of money on the credit of the town to pay the same. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1864. 

Robert Thompson, moderator. 
G. A. Bean, town-clerk. 

For Gover7ior. 

Joseph A. Gilmore, 195 

Edward W. Harrington, 261 

Iie2)resentatii:es. 
John P. Colby, Hezekiah B. Harriman. 

Moses D. Wheeler, \ 

E. E.. Gilmore, > Selectmen. 

C. G. McAlpine, ) 

Charles P. Eowell, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 
H. S. Huntington, S. C. Pattee, L. W. Collins. 

Voted to instruct the Selectmen (if in their power) to change 
the town debt from the present rate of six per cent, interest, to 
the rate of 5 per cent, for three years, or four percent, for 5 years. 



398 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

At a legal meeting, held June 4, 1864, the followmg 
resolution, offered by F. P. Harriman, was adopted : 

Eesolved, That the Selectmen be authorized to raise, by note or 
otherwise, a sufficient sum of money to jiay three hundred dol- 
lars each to drafted men or their substitutes, who are noAV or 
may hereafter be drafted, to fill the present or any future quota 
of the town. 

KAISING THE BID. 

At a meeting, held July 7th of the same year, — 

Voted to adopt the resolution of Stephen S. Bean, which was 
as follows : 

Resolved, That the Selectmen of the town of Warner be author- 
ized to procure volunteers to be enlisted into the service of the 
United States, to be credited to said town, a number not exceed- 
ing fifty, and that they be authorized to pay a sum not exceeding 
$800 to each volunteer so enlisted, and that they be further au- 
thorized to borrow, upon the credit of the town, a sum of money, 
not exceeding $40,000, for said purpose. 

At another meeting, held Aug. 20th of the same 
year,— 

Voted, That the Selectmen be hereby instructed to pay Oliver 
P. Reddington, a sum of money not exceeding $300, as bounty 
for a substitute furnished by him, and credited to the town. 

Voted to choose an Agent to recruit soldiers in the insurgent 
States, as provided by an act for that purpose, approved August 
19, 1864. 

Christopher G. Mc Alpine was appointed as such 
agent. 

Samuel Davis, Jr., was appointed to recruit in War- 
ner and Concord. 



WORTHLESS RECRUITS. 399 

BOUNTY-JUMPERS. 

The town, state, and national bounties now amount- 
ed to SljOOO or $1,200 to a man, and " bomity-jmTip- 
ing" became a business. A man would enlist for a 
certain town, take his bounty, desert, and, under 
another name, enlist for another town ; and so con- 
tinue, enlisting and deserting, to the end of the 
war. 

The South was visited, the great cities were hunt 
ed, and Canada was raked over for recruits. Even 
the doors of jails and prisons were opened, in certain 
cases, and the inmates w^ere granted immunity from 
punishment on enlisting as soldiers to vindicate the 
integrity of the government. Of such recruits, 625 
were sent forward to fill the depleted ranks of the 
11th N. H. Regiment, but only 240 of them ever 
reached the regiment at all. Other commands fared 
no better, and some not as well. 

The N. H. Adjutant-General's Report (vol. 2, 1865), 
beginning on page 574, and ending on page 590, 
gives the names of 425 recruits who were enlisted in 
1864, under the stimulus of these extravagant boun- 
ties, 300 of whom deserted in less than two months 
after being mustered into the service ; 122 are not 
accounted for (most or all of whom undoubtedly de- 
serted) ; two died ; and one served his country ! 



400 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

MORE MEN. 

A call for 500,000 more men was made by the pres- 
ident in August, 1864, and another meeting, to pro- 
vide ways and means to meet that call, was held in 
Warner on the 27th day of that month. 

N. G. Ordway offered a preamble and resolution, 
which were adopted, setting forth what had been 
done at previous meetings, and approving the same ; 
also approving of what had been done by the select- 
men and the agents appointed to procure recruits, 
and instructing the selectmen and agents to use their 
best efforts to fill the quota of the town, under the last 
call of the president, in any legal manner. 

Frank P. Harriman presented the following resolu- 
tion, which was adopted : 

Resolved, That the town be authorized to pay a sum of money, 
not exceeding $800, as heretofore voted, to all who have been res- 
idents in town for three months, who may be or have been en- 
listed for three years, under the last call of the President for 
500,000 men, or in that proportion for a less term of service ; 
and also, that the town be authorized to pay the sum of $300, in 
addition, provided the State bounty be, by any means, cut off ; 
also the town be authorized to pay $200, in addition to the $800, 
provided the present quota of the town be filled without a draft. 

THE ARMY MOVES. 

At a meeting, held Sept. 3, 1864, — 

Voted to pay to one year's men $000. 

Voted three cheers to Gen. Sherman and his Army for taking 
Atlanta! 



TOWN RECORDS. 



401 



PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, NOVEMBER, 1864. 

Robert Thompson, moderator ; prayer was offered by Rev. 
Lemuel Willis. 

The Lincoln electors received 203 votes. 
" McClellan " " 275 " 

Voted to pay Don E. Scott a bounty of f 150. [Scott had en- 
listed before the town offered bounties of $ 150, but was not 7nics- 
tered till afterwards.] 

Another meeting was held, Dec. 16, 1864, and the 
selectmen were mstructed to pay $300 to any citizen 
of Warner who had furnished, or who should furnish, 
a substitute for himself, to enter the service as a part 
of the quota of the town. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1865. 

Robert Thompson, moderator. 
Moses D. Wheeler, town-clerk. 

JFor Governor. 

Frederick Smyth, 190 

Edward W. Harrington, 241 

Hejn'esentatives. 

Elijah R. Gilmore, John Rogers. 

C. G. McAlpine, \ 

J. M. Harriman, > Selectmen. 

Geo. P. Harvey, ) 

Samuel Davis, Jr., collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 

S. C. Pattee, S. Davis, Jr. 



402 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

On the question of the expediency of buying a 
county poor-farm, the vote stood, yeas, 5 ; nays, 145. 

Voted to fund the floating debt of the town by issuing bonds 
to an amount not exceeding $50,000, said bonds to bear interest 
not exceeding 6 per cent, per annum. 

TOWN FARM. 

At a meeting, held Feb. 6, 1866, Samuel Davis, Jr., 
acting as moderator, — 

Eeuben Porter moved that the Town Farm be sold, and the 
vote stood, yeas, 21 ; nays. 23. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MAECH, 1866. 

Robert Thompson, moderator. 
M. D. Wheeler, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Frederick Smyth, 194 

John G. Sinclair, 257 

Mepresen ta lives. 
Elijah E.. Gilmore, John Eogers. 

J. M. Harriman, \ 

L. W. Collins, > Selectmen. 

Charles Currier, ) 

Samuel Davis, Jr., collector. 

Sui^erintending School Committee. 
S. C. Pattee, S. Davis, Jr., Albert Heald. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

END OF TOWN RECORDS MOUNTAIN ROAD WARNER HIGH 

SCHOOL RIVER BOW PARK ROAD AND RESERVOIRS — FUND- 
ING THE DEBT CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION COUNTY 

BUILDINGS — UNDER THE NEW CONSTITUTION. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1867. 

Kobert Thompson, moderator. 
John E. Robertson, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Walter Harriman, 186 

John G. Sinclair, 268 

Onslow Stearns, 10 

Hepresentatives. 
Samuel Davis, Moses J. Collins. 

L. W. Collins, \ 

Charles Currier, \ Selectmen. 

Joseph Mace, ) 

Geo. S. Eowell, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 
S. C. Pattee, S. Davis, Albert Heald. 

On the question, " Is it expedient to abolish pauper settle- 
ments in town, and throw the entire support of paupers upon the 
counties ?" the vote stood, yeas, 11 ; nays, 124. 

Voted that the Selectmen be instructed to raise money on the 
credit of the Town, to renew or change notes against the town, 
and to take such measures as they deem expedient to meet the 
floating debt. 



404 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Walter Harriman was born at the foot of the Mink 
Hills, in Warner, April 8, 1817. Reared on a large, 
rough farm, he was early acquainted with work. He 
received a good public school and academic education, 
and in his early days taught schools in New Hamp- 
shire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. 
While in pursuit of a school in the latter State, he 
walked two hundred miles, having no money to pay 
fares. At the age of 22, while in New Jersey, he 
wrote several sermons, portions of which afterwards 
found their way into print. At the age of 23 he con- 
nected himself with the Universalist denomination, 
and commenced preaching in Warner. In the spring 
of 1841 he settled in Harvard, Mass. After remain- 
ing there four years, he returned to Warner, and not 
long thereafter abandoned the pulpit altogether. He 
was then engaged, for a time, in mercantile business. 
In 1849 he was elected as representative to the legis- 
lature of the state from the town of Warner. During 
the session of that year he frequently occupied the 
speaker's chair. He was reelected in 1850, and again 
in 1858, and was the candidate of his party for the 
speakership the last-named year. 

In 1853 he was elected state treasurer, and in 1854 
was reelected by seventeen majority, though his j)arty 
in the legislature, at that session, was unable to elect 
senators or a state printer. 

In 1856 he was appointed by the president of the 



WALTER HARRIMAN. 405 

United States on a board of three commissioners, to 
classify and appraise Indian lands in Kansas Territory. 
The amount of "land to be appraised was equal to 
about two thirds of the state of New Hampshire, The 
commissioners, in the discharge of their duty, often 
slept on the open prairie, and sometimes in Indian 
wigwams. 

In 1859 he was elected to the state senate from 
District No. 8, and was reelected in 1860. 

In the spring of 1861 he became the editor and 
one of the proprietors of the Weekly Union, at Man- 
chester, which paper strongly indorsed the national 
administration in its efforts to preserve the unity of 
the republic. 

In August, 1862, he was appointed colonel of the 
11th Regiment N. H. Vols., and was with his com- 
mand at the closings scene when Lee surrendered. 
[See Chapter XXXIL] 

In June, 1865, he was elected by the legislature as 
secretary of state, and in 1866 was reelected to the 
same office. 

In 1867, being a candidate for the office of gov- 
ernor, he met the opposing candidate, Hon. John G. 
Sinclair, in joint debate, at thirteen different places. 
He was elected by a decisive majority, and was re- 
elected, after a severe contest, in 1868. 

Upon the accession of Gen. Grant to the presiden- 
cy, he was appointed naval officer at the port of Bos- 



406 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

ton for four years, and was reappointed for a like 
term in 1873. 

He has taken part, in one and another of the excit- 
ing pohtical campaigns of the past, in many of the 
states of the Union. 

In a discussion at the old meeting-house, in Loudon 
Centre, with Hon. Cyrus Barton, of Concord, Februa- 
ry, 1855, Mr. Barton dropped dead at his side. 

Mr. H. gave the oration at the centennial celebra- 
tion in Concord, July 4, 1876. 

The honorary degree of a. m. was conferred on him 
by Dartmouth college, in 1867. 

In the spring of 1872 he became a resident of Con- 
cord, his present home. 

He married, in September, 1841, Apphia K., daugh- 
ter of Capt. Stephen Hoyt. She died in September, 
1843. In October, 1844, he married Almira R. An- 
drews. Their oldest child and only daughter (Geor- 
gia) was born July, 1846. She married J. R Leeson, 
a merchant of Boston. The two sons are spoken of 
in Chapter XXXI. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1868. 

Robert Thompson, moderator. 
John E. Robertson, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Walter Harriman, 222 

John G. Sinclair, 274 



TOWN RECORDS. 407 

JRepresen tatives. 

Samuel Davis, Moses J. Collins. 

Charles Currier, \ 

Gilman A. Bean, V Selectmen. 

John W. Clement, ) 

George S. Rowell, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 

Samuel Davis, A. Heald, H. S. Huntington. 

Voted that one half of the Railroad Tax, and one half of the 
remainder of the Literary Fund now on hand, be divided equally 
among the several School Districts in Town, and the remaining 
one half among the scholars. 

John E. Robertson having resigned the office of 
town-clerk, the selectmen, Dec. 8, 1868, appointed 
Gilman C. George to fill the vacancy. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1869. 

Robert Thompson, moderator. 

Gilman C. George, town-clerk. " 

For Governor. 

Onslow Stearns, 214 

John Bedell, 269 

Representatives. 
Christopher G. McAlpiue, Lemuel W. Collins, 

Gilman A. Bean, \ 

John W. Clement, >- Selectmen. 

Isaac K. Connor, ) 

Cyrus Hale, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 
Messrs. Huntington, Pattee, and Heald. 



408 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

MOUNTAIN EOAD. 

The Warner and Kearsarge Road Company was 
chartered by the legislature in 1866. 

At a legal meeting, held in Warner, Sept. 1, 1869, 
to take into consideration the building of a road to 
the top of Kearsarge mountain, Stephen C. Pattee 
was chosen moderator. H. H. Harriman, in behalf of 
the petitioners, explained the feasibility, distance, and 
grades of the proposed road, and estimated the whole 
expense, including land damages, at $5,000. 

N. G. Ordway, in remarks favoring the road, pro- 
posed to guarantee the building of the southerly end, 
from a point in McHammond's pasture to a junction, 
at some suitable point, with the Tory Hill road, free 
of expense to the town, if the town would lay out 
and build the balance. 

Voted tliat a committee of seven be appointed by tbe ^lodera- 
tor, to examine the proposed route, and make an estimate of the 
cost of the road. 

The moderator appointed H. H. Harriman, W. Scott Davis, L. 
W. Collins, C. G. McAlpine, Uriah Ager, G. C. George, and Wm. 
R. Sargent. 

At a subsequent meeting the committee made a 
long report, and after much discussion the meeting 
adjourned, no action having been taken. 

. WARNER HIGH SCHOOL. 

In the will of the late Franklin Simonds, dated 
August 19, 1869, the following clause appears : 



WARNER HIGH SCHOOL. 409 

My wish is to leave some token of my regard for the town of 
Warner, which has so long been the place of my residence. An 
appropriation towards the support of a High School in said town, 
occurs to me as the best form of such a token. In order to secure 
for the school proper interest and oversight, as well as adequate 
support, I desire that it shall be so constituted that the town Avill 
have the right and duty to sustain it, and that its advantages will 
be open to all the inhabitants of said town without any distinc- 
tion whatever on account of religious or other opinions. 

I therefore give to Robert Thompson, George Jones, Gilman 
A, Bean, Stephen S. Bean, Stephen C. Pattee, Samuel W. Colby, 
and Henry S. Huntington, all of Warner, and to their survivors 
and successors, appointed as is hereinafter provided, the sum of 
Twent}^ Thousand Dollars, in trust for the following uses and 
purposes, and subject to the conditions following. 

Then the "conditions" are stated in detail, and at 
length. In substance they are as follows: The trus- 
tees are to manage the fund, and apply the income to 
the support of the school ; the whole town to be made 
and constituted, under the General Statutes of New 
Hampshire, a high school district ; such district to pro- 
vide and maintain a suitable building, of the value of 
not less than $6000, for the use of the school ; said 
building to be located in Warner village. 

If the his:h school district should not be constitut- 
ed, or if the building should not be provided, within 
the space of three years after the decease of the tes- 
tator, then the bequest was to fall. If, again, said 
high school district should be dissolved, or should neg- 
lect, for the space of twelve months in succession, to 
maintain a school, then the fund was to be withdrawn. 

Mrs. Abigail K. Simonds (wife of the above), by her 



410 HISTORY OP WARNER. 

will, dated Sept. 1, 1870, added $5000 to the fore- 
going fund. She also gave $5000 towards building 
the school-house. 

Franklin Simonds. The writer has but little knowl- 
edge of the ancestry of Mr. Simonds. He may have 
descended from Moses Simonds, who was born in Ley- 
den, who came to this country in the ship Fortune, in 
1621, and settled in that part of Plymouth which is 
now Duxbury. This Moses was one of the original 
purchasers of Dartmouth, Mass., and one of the pro- 
prietors of Bridgewater. 

Franklin Simonds was born at Lexington, Mass. 
He left home when 20 years of age, to engage in busi- 
ness in New Ipswich, N. H. During his residence 
there he became acquainted with his future wife (Abi- 
gail Kimball, of Fitchburg), who was a teacher at 
New Ipswich. After his marriage, Mr. Simonds lived 
at Peterborough, at Drewsville (a village of Walpole), 
and at Newport, before coming to Warner. After 
coming to Warner, which occurred about the year 
1836, he carried on the cotton factory above Gould's 
mills a short time, and was also engaged in trade at 
Waterloo. He served as deputy sheriff seventeen 
years, and two years as representative in the legisla- 
ture. He also served a number of years as president 
of Warner Bank. His only child, who lived to ma- 
ture age (Miss Alice Simonds), died suddenly at Rye 
Beach, a few years before the decease of her father. 




o- 



c-^^^^J 



HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT. 411 

At a legal meeting of the inhabitants of the town 
of Warner, Jan. 4, 1870, S. C. Pattee acting as moder- 
ator, — 

Voted that a Committee of nine be appointed by the Modera- 
tor to solicit subscriptions towards building a School House, to 
report at a subsequent meeting what further sum of money may 
be thought necessary to comply with the Will of the late Mr. Si- 
monds, also incidental expenses of running the school ; and that 
when this meeting adjourn, it adjourn to meet at this place on 
Saturday ptrevious to the next annual town meeting. 

The moderator appointed N. G. Ordway, Samuel H. 
Dow, Henry S. Huntington, Albert Heald, Samuel 
Davis, W. Scott Davis, Oilman A. Bean, C. G. McAl- 
pine, and John Rogers for said committee. 

HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT. 

At the adjourned meeting, March 5, 1870, — 

Voted that the town resolve itself into a High School District. 

The committee appointed Jan. 4, reported that they 
had obtained subscriptions towards building a house 
for the high school, amounting to $1,912.76. They 
also expressed it as their judgment that the number 
of pupils for whom provision should be made in the 
high school building is about 100. In regard to the 
current expenses of the school, such as repairs of the 
building, insurance, fuel, etc., the committee presented 
the following resolution : 

Resolved, That it is the opinion of this Committee that the 
funds received from scholars from adjoining towns, in the nature 

27 



412 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

of tuition, will fully cover the annual expense of running the 
school. 

In reference to the hiring of teachers, the following 
resolution was adopted by the committee : 

Resolved, that in the judgment of this committee, good and 
competent teachers for the High School can be secured by the in- 
come of the fund left by Mr. Simonds. 

In reference to the cost of the school-house, the fol- 
lowing resolution was adopted : 

Resolved, That in the opinion of this committee, $6000 will 
furnish a suitable wooden building for a High School. 

The committee further reported, that, — 

As the amount raised by subscription is $1,912.76, it will be 
seen that the balance to be raised by the Town is $4,087.24, and 
we recommend that this sum be raised by tax upon the town. 

The meeting, after receiving the foregoing report 
of the committee, adjourned, without taking action, 
to the 26th day of March. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1870. 

Stej)hen C. Pattee, moderator. 
Gilman C. George, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Onslow Stearns, 193 

John Bedell, 224 

Samuel Flint, 19 

JRejwesentatives. 
C. G. McAlpine, L. W. Collins. 



DISTRICT DISSOLVED. . 413 

John E. Robertsoiij ^ 

E. M. Dunbar, > Selectmen. 

Jacob Osgood, ) 

Cyrus Hale, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 
Messrs. Huntington, Heald, and Davis. 

HIGH SCHOOL AGAIN. 

At the adjourned meeting March 26, 1870, — 

Voted to proceed to choose a Prudential Committee. 

S. C. Pattee, W. S. Davis, and L. W. Collins were 
chosen. 

Then the following resolution was passed : 

Resolved, That this meeting does not deem itself called upon, 
by sound policy, to entertain any proposition now before it, look- 
ing to the sale of the Town House to the High School District. 

Voted to dissolve the meeting. 

DISTRICT DISSOLVED. 

At a special meeting, held March 1, 1871, S. C. Pat- 
tee acting as moderator, — 

Resolved, That the High School District, established and consti- 
tuted by the vote of the town on the 5th day of March, 1870, be 
and is hereby discontinued and dissolved, 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1871. 

S. C. Pattee, moderator. 
G. C. George, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

James A. Weston, 259 

James Pike, 176 



414 HISTORY OP WARNER, 

Represen tatives . 
Charles Currier, Moses D. Wheeler. 

John E. Eobertson, "j 

E. M. Dunbar, V Selectmen. 

Jacob Osgood, J 

Cyrus Hale, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 

H. S. Huntington, S. Davis, Walter Sargent. 

REVIVIFIED. 

At a legal meeting, held at the town hall, March 
18, 1871, Stephen S. Bean, moderator, — 

Resolved, That the town of Warner, in view of the bequests of 
Franklin Sinionds, late of Warner, of twenty thousand dollars, 
and of Abigail K. Simonds, late of Warner, of five thousand dol- 
lars, as a fund, the income to be applied for the purpose of a high 
school, establish a high school, and that said tow^n be and hereby 
is constituted a high school district, including the whole territory 
of said town. 

THE HOUSE ERECTED. 

During the summer of 1871, the high school build- 
ing, with brick walls, w^as erected and finished. The 
first term of school in it commenced the 4th day of 
December of that year. The cost of the building, 
fences, etc., was something above $10,000, but the 
whole amount was contributed by individuals, as fol- 
lows : 

Mrs. Simonds, $5,000 

Oilman A. Bean, 2,160 



ROADS AND RESERVOIRS. 415 



Samuel H. Dow, 


$2,160 


George Jones, 


250 


C. a McAlpine, 


250 


John E. Robertson, 


250 



Ira Harvey, Wm. K. Morrill, Reuben Cloiigh, Leon- 
iclas Harriman, and John C. Bean made smaller con- 
tributions. 

RIVER-BOAV PARK. 

In 1871 Stephen C. Pattee inaugurated a home fair 
at Warner. That year and the next the exhibitions 
were in the street. In 1873 Nehemiah G. Ordway 
laid off from his intervale land, between the river and 
the railroad, ten or twelve acres for a fair ground. He 
erected buildings and stalls, and made a track for 
horse-trotting. In 1875 the "River-Bow Park Com- 
pany " was incorporated by the legislature. The 
company, which embraces eight or ten of the sur- 
rounding towns, organized in 1876, and purchased the 
grounds and buildings. The presidents of this society 
have been Levi Bartlett, E. C. Bailey, N. G. Ordway, 
and S. C. Pattee, and its exhibitions have been suc- 
cessful. 

ROADS AND RESERVOIRS. 

A special meeting was called, October, 1871, to see 
if the town would aid "The Warner and Kearsarge 
Road Company" to the extent of |l3,000; also, to see 
if the town would exempt from taxation, for the term 
of ten years, one half of the taxable value of the mill 



416 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

property, upon Warner river, of those mill-owners who 
have paid their proportion of the expense of forming 
a reservoir at Long pond in Sutton ; also, to exempt 
from taxation, for ten years, the whole of said mill 
propertj^, whenever said mill-owners shall, to the sat- 
isfaction of the selectmen of said town of Warner, in 
the like manner, have established Bradford pond as 
an additional and permanent reservoir for the water- 
power of said river, and to instruct the representatives 
of the town to procure the necessary legislation for 
the foregoing purpose. 

After discussion, voted to pass over both articles in 
the warrant. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1872. 

Stephen C. Pattee, moderator. 
Augustus K. Putnam, town-cleric. 



For Governor. 




Ezekiel A. Straw, 


188 


James A. Weston, 


249 


Represen tatives. 




Charles Currier, Moses D. 


Wheeler. 



John E. Eobertson, \ 

Chas. H. Colby, Jr., > Selectmen. 

John H. Dowlin, ) 

George S. Rowell, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 
H. S. Huntington, S. Davis, Walter Sargent. 



EOAD BOND. 417 

At the presidential election, November, 1872, Ste- 
phen S. Bean, moderator, — 

The Grant electors received 152 votes. 
" Greeley " " 254 « 

The town proceeded to act on the third article in 
the warrant, having reference to aid to the Mountain 
road. Stephen C. Pattee introduced a resolution, 
authorizing: and instructino; the selectmen to subscribe 
for and hold, in the name of the town, twenty shares, 
of the value of $100 each, of the stock of the " War- 
ner and Kearsarge Road Company," provided, how- 
ever, that the foregoing resolution shall not be bind- 
ing on the part of the town until said road is com- 
pleted, or until responsible parties shall furnish a 
bond, to the satisfaction of the selectmen, to build said 
road without further assistance from the town. 

Samuel Davis proposed the following amendment 
to the resolution : 

And provided further, that the town have two fifths of the five 
directors, and that the first and second selectmen shall he ex officio 
said directors. 

The amendment was adopted, and the resolution, 
thus amended, passed. 

ROAD BOND. 

N. G. Ordway and AYm. E. Chandler furnished a 
bond, in the sum of four thousand dollars, on the 27th 
day of February, 1873, to complete the Mountain 
road, without expense to the town of Warner beyond 



418 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

the appropriation of $2000 made in November, 1872 ; 
the said Ordway and Chandler binding themselves to 
complete the road on or before the first day of June, 
1874, to a point about eight rods below the summit 
of Kearsarge mountain, — and the selectmen, for the 
town, coming under obligation to pay over the $2000 
appropriated, on these conditions. 

This road was built, under the supervision of N. G. 
Ordway, in 1873 and 1874, commencing at Hurricane 
Gate, and extending to near the top of the mountain. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1873. 

Stephen S. Bean, moderator. 
Augustus E. Putnam, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Ezekiel A. Straw, 153 

James A. Weston, 226 

Samuel K. Mason, 7 

Hepresentatives. 

John E. Eobertson, John W. Clement. 

Charles H. Colby, Jr., \ 

John H. DoAvHn, > Selectmen. 

Stephen S. Bean, ) 

George S. Eowell, collector. 

Stuperintending School Comtnittee. 
S. S. Bean, Walter Sargent, Frank W. Graves. 

Voted to exempt the capital stock in the Shoe Factory from 
taxation for the term of ten years. 



FUNDING THE DEBT. 419 



ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1874. 

Samuel Davis, moderator. 
Augustus R. Putnam, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

James -A. Weston, 242 

Luther McCutchins, 172 

Mepresentatices. 

John E. Robertson, John W. Clement. 

John H. Dowlin, \ 

J. M. Harriman, \ Selectmen. 

George W. Dow, ) 

George Upton, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 

S. S. Bean, S. C. Pattee, S. Davis. 

FUNDING THE DEBT. 

Voted to fund the town debt in what is known as 5-20 Bonds ; 
the amount not to exceed $30,000; the bonds to be in denomina- 
tions of not less than $50, nor more than $1000; the rate of 
interest not to exceed 6 per cent. 

James M. Harriman, Albert P. Davis, and Samuel 
H. Dow were appointed as a board of commissioners 
to prepare said bonds and determine the denomina- 
tions of the same ; also, to have fidl authority to 
negotiate and sell said bonds, provided they shall not 
be sold at less than par. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1875. 

Stephen C. Pattee, moderator. 
Augustus R. Putnam, town-clerk. 



420 



HISTORY OF WARNER. 



For Governor. 




Person C. Cheney, 


202 


Hiram R. Roberts, 


238 



jRepresentatives. 

John H. Dowlin, Nehemiah G. Ordway. 

J. M. Harriman, \ 

George W. Dow, \ Selectmen. 

Philip C. Wheeler, ) 

George Upton, collector. 

Sxcper intending School Committee. 

Messrs. Bean, Davis, and Pattee. 

ASSESSORS. 

At a special meeting, August 14, 1875, S. S. Bean 

offered the following resolution : 

Resolved, That the town proceed to choose by ballot six persons 
to serve as assessors the present year. 

The resolution was adopted, and the following per- 
sons were chosen, — viz., Charles Currier, Hezekiah C. 
Dowlin, Samuel H. Dow, Bartlett Hardy, Eeuben 
Clough, and George Savory. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1876. 

N. G. Ordway, moderator. 
Augustus R. Putnam, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Person C. Cheney, 253 

Daniel Marcy, 222 

Itepresentatives. 
John H. Dowlin, N. G. Ordway. 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 421 

Jesse D. Currier, ^ 

Philip C. Wheeler, >- Selectmen. 

Paine Davis, ) 

George W. Smith, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 

S. C. Pattee, E. C. Cole, E. Eugene Walker. 

On the question, " Is it exj^edient to revise the Constitution of 
the State ?" the vote stood, yeas, 139 ; nays, 114. 

On motion of A. P. Davis, — 

Voted that the Selectmen be authorized to sell the Stock in 
the Warner and Kearsarge Mountain Road Company, held by the 
town, at public auction. 

At the presidential election, November, 1876, N. G. 
Ordway acting as moderator, the Hayes electors re- 
ceived 253 votes; Tilden electors, 219. 

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 

N. G. Ordway and William H. Walker were chosen 
delegates to the constitutional convention, to be held 
in Concord the December following;. 

Albert P. Davis, Warren C. Johnson, and Wm. K. 
Morrill were appointed a committee to take into con- 
sideration the question of enlarging and repairing 
the town-house. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1877. 

N. CI. Ordway, moderator. 
Benjamin E. Heath, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

Benjaiiiin F. Prescott, 256 

Daniel Marcy, 213 



422 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Mepresentatives. 

N. G. Ordway, Henry C. Davis. 

Jesse D. Currier, \ 

Paine Davis, > Selectmen. 

James G. Ela, J 

George Savory, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 
Messrs. Pattee, Cole, and Walker. 

THE NEW CONSTITUTION. 

The constitutional convention, which assembled at 
Concord in December, 1876, continued in session 
eleven days, framed a constitution, and submitted the 
same in thirteen questions to the qualified voters of 
the state. At the annual election, March, 1877, the 
vote was taken, and all the propositions were adopted 
by a two-thirds vote (that being required), except the 
first and twelfth. Those were defeated. 

The vote of Warner, on the several propositions, 
stood as follows : 

1. Do you approve of striking out the word " Protestant " in 
the Bill of Eights, as proposed in the amended Constitution ? 
Yeas, 93 ; nays, 228. 

2. Do you approve of so amending the Constitution, that the 
general court shall be authorized to provide for the trial of causes 
in which the value in controversy does not exceed one hundred 
dollars and title to real estate is not concerned, without the in- 
tervention of a jury, as proposed by the amended Constitution ? 
Yeas, 196 ; nays, 123. 

3. Do you apiDrove of the biennial election of governor, coun- 
cillors, members of the senate and house of representatives, and 



THE NEW CONSTITUTION. 423 

biennial sessions of the legislature, as proposed in the amended 
Constitution? Yeas, 203; nays, 117. 

4. Do you approve of a house of representatives based upon 
population, and constituted and chosen as provided in the amend- 
ed Constitution ? Yeas, 28 ; nays, 294. 

5. Do you approve of a senate of twenty -four members, to be 
constituted and chosen as provided in the amended Constitution? 
Yeas, 188 ; nays, 131. 

6. Do you approve of the election, by the people, of registers 
of probate, solicitors, and sheriffs, as provided in the amended 
Constitution ? Yeas, 208 ; nays, 105. 

7. Do 3^ou approve of abolishing the religious test as a qualifi- 
cation for oifice, as proposed in the amended Constitution ? Yeas, 
136 ; nays, 83. 

8. Do you approve of prohibiting the general court from au- 
thorizing towns or cities to loan or give their money or credit to 
corporations, as proposed in the amended Constitution ? Yeas, 
182 ; nays, 130. 

9. Do you approve of changing the time for holding the state 
election from March to November, as proposed in the amended 
Constitution ? Yeas, 233 ; nays, 89. 

10. Do you approve of authorizing the general court to provide 
that ap23eals from a justice of the peace may be tried by some 
other court without the intervention of a jury, as proposed in the 
amended Constitution ? Yeas, 182 ; naj^s, 126. 

11. Do you approve of authorizing the general court to increase 
the jurisdiction of justices of the pence to one hundred dollars, as 
proposed in the amended Constitution ? Yeas, 144; nays, 266. 

12. Do you approve of the jiroposed amendment prohibiting 
the removal from office for political reasons ? Yeas, 149 ; nays, 
166. 

13. Do you approve the proposed amendment prohibiting 
money raised by taxation from being applied to the support of 
the schools or institutions of any religious sect or denomination, 
as proposed in the amended Constitution ? Yeas, 205 ; nays, 
101. 

Nehemiah George Ordway was born at the extreme 

west end of the North village, Nov. 10, 1828. At the 



424 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

age of eight years he went to live with his grand- 
father, Isaiah Flanders, at Warner village. In sum- 
mer seasons, till he was about 17 years of age, he 
assisted in the cultivation of his grandfather's farm. 
After a time, in the winter season, he was engaged 
successively in the country stores of H. D. Robertson, 
Robert Thompson, and George Wadleigh. At the age 
of 18 he attended a high school at Bradford, taught 
by Gilbert "Wadleigh. The next year he went to Bos- 
ton, purchased a stock of goods, and set up a small 
store near the ground that Union Hall now stands 
upon. 

In June, 1855, he was elected a doorkeeper of the 
New Hampshire house of representatives, and in 
1856 was reelected to the same office. He was also 
elected assistant clerk, |9ro tern., of the house, in 1856. 
In July of the same year he was appointed by Gov. 
Haile sheriff of Merrimack county, and in the fall 
of that year he removed to Concord. In 1857 he was 
elected marshal of that city, and collector of taxes. 

During the political campaign of 1860, he served 
as chairman of the Republican State Committee. 

In 1861 he was appointed general agent of the 
Post-office Department for the New England states. 

In December, 1863, he was elected sergeant-at- 
arms of the United States House of Representatives, 
and was reelected in 1865, '67, '69, '71, and '73, so that 
he held this office for twelve consecutive years. 



NEHEMIAH GEORGE ORDWAY. 425 

He served on the staff of Gov. Smyth, with the 
rank of colonel. 

At the March election in 1875 he was elected as 
one of the representatives from Warner to the legisla- 
ture of the state, and was reelected in 1876 and 1877. 
In 1875 and 1876 he served as chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Railroads, and in 1877 as chairman of the 
Committee on Finance. 

In the fall of 1876 he was chosen a delegate to the 
constitutional convention, which met at Concord in 
December of that year. 

In November, 1877, he was appointed by the gov- 
ernor a member of the tax commission, which board 
reported, at the session of the legislature in 1878, 
nineteen bills for chansrins; the mode of the assess- 

O CD 

ment and collection of taxes upon the various classes 
of property in the state. 

At the November election of 1878 he was elected, 
under the amended constitution, to the state senate, 
for the Merrimack district, for the term of two years. 

The remodelling and enlarging of the hotel at 
Warner village was mainly due to Mr. Ordway, and 
his prominence in the bank, in the construction of the 
Mountain road, and in the establishment of the Fair 
grounds, is set forth, to some extent, elsewhere in this 
and in the XXVIIth chapters. 

Mr. Ordway married, in 1848, Nancy, youngest 
daughter of Daniel Bean, Sen. Their children who 



426 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

have lived to mature age, are Mrs. E. L. Whitford, 
of Concord, George L. (who is spoken of in Chapter 
XXXI), and Florence. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1878. 

L. W. Collins, moderator. 
B. F. Heath, town-clerk. 

For Governor. 

B. F. Prescott, 248 

Frank A. McKean, 236 

Representatwes. 
Henry C. Davis ; one vacancy. 

L. W. Collins, \ 

Benjamin C. Flanders, > Selectmen. 
Eeuben Clough, ) 

George Upton, collector. 

Superintending School Committee. 

E. C. Cole, Fred Myron Colby, Geo. N. Tewksbury. 

On motion of A. P. Davis, — 

Kesolved, That our Representative in the General Court be in- 
structed to vote against any appropriation for the purpose of re- 
building the County Poor-Farm buildings. 

COUNTY BUILDINGS. 

At a special meeting, April 13, 1878, Leonidas Har- 
riman, moderator, — 

Voted to return to the Town system of supporting paupers. 
Yeas, 236 ; nays, none. 

Voted against rebuilding the County Buildings, which had been 
destroyed by fire. Yeas, 210 ; nays, none. 



TOWN RECORDS. 427 

Resolved, That we believe the best interests of the county 
require that the county projjerty at Boscawen should be sold im- 
mediately. 

UNDER THE NEW CONSTITUTION. 

Under the new constitution, State elections are to 
be held biennially, on the first Tuesday of November. 
Town elections are held, under a law of the state, an- 
nually, in March, as usual. The first election under 
this constitution took place Nov. 5, 1878, when a gov- 
ernor, members of congress, councillors, members of 
the senate and house of representatives, and county 
officers, were elected for two years. Warner having 
a less population than 1800, is entitled to but one 
representative under the new constitution. 

At this election in Warner, L. W. Collins was cho- 
sen moderator. 

For Governor. 

Natt Head received 227 votes. 
Frank A. McKean received 247 votes. 
Warren G. Brown received 6 votes. 

Charles H. Couch was elected representative. 

A committee was appointed, consisting of A. P. 
Davis, P. C. Wheeler, and J. H. Dowlin, to re-fund the 
bonded debt of the town. 

ANNUAL MEETING, MARCH, 1879. 

L. W. Collins, moderator. 
Lloyd H. Adams, town-clerk. 
28 



428 HISTORY OF WAENER. 

L. W. Collins, J 

B. C. Flanders, > Selectmen. 

Reuben Clougli, ) 

George Upton, collector, 
Luther J. Clement, treasurer. 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO RE-FUND THE DEBT 
OF THE TOWN. 

The committee, appointed on the 5th day of November, 1878, 
for the purpose of re-funding the bonded debt of the town at a 
lower rate of interest, in making this preliminary and partial 
report, beg leave to say, that they have sold nearly $19,000 of the 
new 5-20 4 per cent, bonds, leaving only about $1,000 unsold at 
this date. Your committee have no doubt, when the 1st day of 
Ma}^, 1879, arrives, at which time the old 6 per cent, town bonds 
are redeemable, that without borrowing, and from the sale of 
the new bonds alo?ie, they will have sufficient money with which 
to redeem every 6 per cent, bond outstanding. 

Your committee congratulate the town over this successful 
financial operation, whereby a saving in interest alone will result 
to the town of more than $2,300 during the period before these 
4 per cent, bonds are due — a sum equivalent to the payment of 12 
per cent, of our bonded debt. 

A. P. Davis, 
P. C. Wheeler, 

J. H. DOWLIN, 

Committee. 
Warner, March 1, 1879. 



CHAPTEE XXX. 

KEARSARGE GORE — THE MASONIAN PROPRIETORS — THE CURVE 
LINE — SURVEY OF THE GORE — WILMOT INCORPORATED — THE 
GORE RECORDS. 

IHE history of Kearsarge Gore is interesting in 
every line, and especially so to the inhabitants 
of Warner, because for sixty years and upwards 
the Gore has constituted a part of Warner. This 
chapter will set forth, in detail, the story of that 
mountain region. 

The Masonian proprietors cannot yet be dismissed. 
They played an important part in the early history of 
the Gore, as well as in that of Warner. Capt. John 
Mason's grandsons were John and Robert Tufton, and 
Mason left a large property to these grandsons, on 
condition that they would take his name. This they 
did. John Tufton Mason had the Mason interest in 
New Hampshire. He sold this interest (as has been 
already stated) to a company of twelve gentlemen, 
whose names appear on a former page. These gran- 
tees of the Mason property are usually called " The 
Masonian Proprietors." They were men of character 
and standing in the province, and they conducted 



430 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

themselves generally with commendable prudence. 
They were certainly generous towards actual settlers 
upon their lands. 

Previous to the time when the twelve came into 
possession, much litigation and strife had grown out 
of the Mason claim. The government of the province 
had, to a certain extent, recognized and defended this 
claim, and the people, many of them, were greatly 
irritated thereat. Cases of assault occasionally grew 
out of this matter. There are still in existence the 
original depositions, on oath, of Barefoot (deputy gov- 
ernor) and Mason, relating to an assault made on 
their persons by Thomas Wiggin and Anthony Nut- 
ter, who had been members of the assembly. 

These two men went to Barefoot's house, in Ports- 
mouth, where Mason lodged, and entered into discus- 
sion with the latter about his proceedings, denying 
his claim, and using such language as provoked him 
to take hold of Wiggin with an intention to thrust 
him out at the door. But Wiggin, being the stronger 
man of the two, seized Mason by the cravat, and 
threw him into the fire, where his clothes and one of 
his legs were burned. Barefoot, coming to the rescue, 
met a similar fate, having two of his ribs broken, and 
one tooth knocked out. 

Another incident, showing the contempt in which 
these men and their measures were held, even by the 
lower class of people, is the following : 



KEARSARGE GORE, 431 

Mary Rann, aged 30 years, or thereabouts, witnesseth, that 
the 21st day of March, 1684, being in company with Seabank 
Hog, I heard her say, — it was very hard for the governor of this 
province to strike Sam Seavey before he spoke. The said Hog 
said also that it was well for the governor that the said Seavey 's 
mother was not there, for if she had, there had been bloody work 
for him. I heard the said Hog say also, that the governor and 
the rest of the gentlemen were a crew of pitiful curs, and did 
they want earthly honor ? — if they did, she would pull off her 
head-clothes, and come in her hair, to them, like a parcel of piti- 
ful, beggarly curs as they were ; — come to undo us. both body and 
soul ; they could not be content to take our estates from us, but 
they have taken away the gospel also, which the devil would have 
them for it. 

Sworn in the court of Pleas, held at Great Island (New Castle) 
the 7th of Nov., 1684. 

THE CURVE LINE. 

Long and bitter controversies grew out of the ques- 
tion of the north-western boundary of the Mason 
grant. That question, after much dispute, was finally 
determined. The sixty-mile bound on the south was 
fixed on the line between Fitzwilliam and Richmond, 
and on the east at the point in Conway where the 
Saco river enters the state of Maine. A straight line 
from point to point w^ould pass over Monadnock moun- 
tain, through Antrim, Henniker, Boscawen, over Lake 
Winnepesaukee and Ossipee mountain, to the Saco 
river. Warner, on this basis of settlement, would 
have been outside of the Masonian grant. It would 
have belonged to the province, and not to individuals, 
and the proprietors of the town (or those who intend- 
ed to become such) would have gone to the govern- 



432 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

ment of the province for their grant. But the Ma- 
sonian proprietors claimed to a curved line, that 
should be substantially sixty miles from the ocean at 
every point. Before the final determination of this 
matter the proprietors of Warner had bought their 
township of the Mason claimants, and had paid them 
$600 for it. The state subsequently recognized this 
claim, on the part of the Lords' proprietors, to a 
curved line, and Warner and Kearsarge Gore were 
loithin the Mason grant. That curved line sweeps 
around to the west and north of Kearsarge mountain, 
passing, in its course, through Sunapee lake. 

SURVEY OF THE GORE. 

At a meeting of the Masonian proprietors, at Ports- 
mouth, April 7, 1779, — 

Voted that Messrs. John Penhallow and John Pierce be a com- 
mittee to employ Capt. Hubertus Neal, or some good Surveyor, 
to take a survey of tlie ungranted land in and about the Moun- 
tain Kier Sarge, and to lay out the same into 100 acre Lotts. 

In December, 1781, those proprietors divided up 
sundry tracts of their unappropriated lands in the 
state between themselves, and among those tracts was 
the following : 

A Tract of land Surveyed and Returned by Henry Gerrish, 
called Kyali Sarge, all the lots in said Plan, with a reserve in 
each lot, of five acres for high ways if wanted. 

The proprietors put the numbers of these lots, and 
of lots in other parts of the state, upon bits of paper, 



KEAESAEGE GORE. 433 

dropped these bits into a hat, and drew therefrom. 
Thomas Wallingford drew twelve of the Kearsarge 
Gore lots, John Wentworth drew ten, Mark Hunking 
Wentworth eight, Solloy and Marsh drew a number, 
and the rest of the proprietors did likewise, till all 
were gone. 

So, before any settlements were made in Kearsarge 
Gore, the lands there were held by individuals, of 
whom the settlers purchased their lots. 

WILMOT INCORPORATED. 

Kearsarge Gore, at the time mentioned, stretched 
over the mountain northward, nearly to the present 
village of Wilmot Centre. Till the ydar 1807, this 
Gore constituted a sort of a town by itself In the 
Gore records it is often called a town. The inhabitants 
met annually, chose their town officers, and conduct- 
ed, in many respects, like organized towns. In June, 
1807, Wilmot was incorporated, taking two thirds of 
its territory from New London, and the other third 
from the Gore. A part of the language of the act of 
incorporation is as follows : 

"And also, all the lands and inhabitants within sftid Kearsarge 
Gore, north of a straight line begiuing at the south-west corner 
of Andover, thence running westerly to the highest part of said 
Mountain, thence westerly," &c., to Sutton line. 

That boundary on the mountain has never been 
changed. 



434 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

THE GORE REORDS. 

State of N. H. > Api^lication being made to me by a No of 
Hillsboro' S. S. i the Inhabitants of Kearsarge Gore in said 
county seeking forth that they Laboured under many difficultys 
on account of not haveing A legal meeting to appoint publick 
officers, Praying that a warnt might essue forth at purpos, these 
are Theirfore in the name of the State of N. H. to Notify and 
warn all the freeholders and others Inhabitants belonging to said 
Gore, Qualified by law to Vote in town Meeting to assemble and 
meet at the House of Mr. Joshua Quimby's in said Gore on Mon- 
day the 2oth day of this Instant August 1794 At one o'clock in 
the afternoon when met to Act as follows viz 

1, ly, to Chuse a Moderator to Govern Said Meeting. 

2, ly, to Chuse a Clark to Record the Procedings of Said Meet- 
ing. 

3, ]y, to See What sums of Money the Inhabi tents will vote to 
Raise this present year and what Meathod to take to make the 
taxes in one or more. 

4, ly, to Chuse Select Men and A Collector for the Present year. 

5, ly, to Chuse tythingmen for this present year. 

6, ly, to Chuse High way Surveyors and all other Publick offi- 
cers that the Law Requires. 

7, ly, to Act on any other Business thought proper When Met. 
Give Under my hand and Sealed at Warner in said County 

the first Day of August 1794. 

James Flanders, Justice of the Peace. 

[How much of the poor spelling and bad grammar 
in the above belongs to the justice of the peace, and 
how muclj to the " Clark," or whoever made the 
record, no one can tell.] 

Warner, Aug. 1, 1794 — Mr. Wm. Quimby you are here by 
Ordered to Post up this in the most Public Place in the Inhab- 
ited Gore fifteen days before the last Monday of August, Present 
to the James Flanders in Warner I have Posted up said warning 
at the house of Mr. Joshua Quimbys in said Gore. [This is not 
signed.] 



KEARSARGE GORE. 



435 



Present to A warrent met at a Time and place Meeting appoint- 
ed by Esq. Flanders proceeded to Chuse a moderator Nalhan 
Clougli, then Chused persons of the following Names into office 
Voted Wm. Quimhy Clark Swarn into office. 

Select Men Voted Wm. Graves, Abner Watldns, Nathan Cross. 

Collector Voted, Nathan Clough. 

Constable Voted, Nathan Clough 

Highway Surveyors Voted, Samuel Quimb}^, Thomas Cross, 
Elisha Smith. 

Meeting Adjourned to the second Monday of September next 
at the house of Mr. Joshua Quimby's in said Gore met at the 
said time and place Agreeable to the Adjournment to Act on the 
articles wich was Prospound. 

1, ly, Voted to raise fifty £ lawful Money this present year. 

2, ly, Voted Isaac Chase Heigh way Survar — 
Said Meeting Dismisst. 

The Gore had been settled a few years betore this 
meeting; was called and this oro:anization effected. A 
few families had got in on both sides of the mountain 
as early as 1788. Clough, Graves, Cross, and Smith 
belonged to the north side of the mountain ; the 
Quimbys. Chase, and Watkins, to the south side. 
Joshua Quimby, at whose house the first meeting was 
held, lived on a road (then in existence) leading from 
the Savory places up easterly to the Currier Quimby 
place, in the edge of Salisbury. Perhaps it was at the 
very spot where John Palmer's house was afterwards 
destroyed by the tornado. 

At the annual Meeting of the Inhabitants of Kearsarge Gore 
leagerly warned and held in said Gore at the house of Mr. Wm. 
Quimby's on Monday 30th day of March, 1795 — 

Voted Nathan Clough moderator. 

Voted Wm Quimby Clark for the insuing year. 



436 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Voted Abner Watkins, Wm. Graves, Nathan Cross, Selectmen 
for the insuing yeav. 

Voted Abuer Watkins to see the petision through the general 
Court. [This was a petition asking the Legislature of the State 
to levy a penny tax (a tax of one penny per acre) on the non- 
resident lands in the Gore.] 

Voted to raise $10 to defray town charges, and $25, to repair 
highways, to be laid out in labor. 

The annual meeting of March, 1796, was held at 
the house of Thomas Wells. 

Nathan Clough, Moderator, Ebenezer Scales, clerk. 

Nathan Clough, Abner Watkins, and Nathan Cross, Selectmen. 
Timothy Walker received 16 votes for Gov. Eaised $32, to de- 
fray toicn charges. 

Voted to receive what Abner Watkins said at the Court Con- 
cerning the j)enny Tax. 

" Vot&d that the said watkins is to take the Care of the same. 

" Voted Jason Watkins Collector and Constable for the year in- 
suing." 

Voted to raise forty dollars for school. 

The following record now appears : 

This may Certifie that Moses Palmer the son of John Palmer 
was Boarn June the 12, 1791. 

At the annual meeting of March, 1797, Abner Wat- 
kins was chosen moderator, and Jason Watkins, clerk. 

Abner Watkins, Samuel Priest, and Nathan Cross 
were chosen selectmen. 

At the annual meeting of 1798 the officers of the 
preceding year were chosen, except in one instance : 
Thomas Wells was substituted for Abner Watkins as 
selectman. 



KEARSARGE GORE. 437 

Voted to raise 15 £ for schooling. 

At a meeting legally called, and holden at the house 
of Jonathan Watkins, July 6, 1798, among other 
things, — 

To see where the People will vote to take a part of the School 
money that was raised for School last spring to help build a school 
house and how much Money they Will take out of that sum on 
this side of the mountain. 

Voted to keep the old sum for schooling and the Eemainder to 
buy Nails and Glass. 

At the annual meeting of March, 1799, two new 
selectmen were elected, viz., Benjamin Cass, of the 
north side, and Foster Goodwin, of the south side. 

Voted to send a petition to Coiirt to git our Meeting changed 
to the first Monday, and by Abner Watkins. 
Voted to raise 15 pounds for school this year. 

On the 4th of February, 1800, a meeting was held 
at the house of Ebenezer Scales, — 

Voted to build a school-house by the twentieth of March. 

Voted to raise $60 to build the school-house, to sine a bond to 
pay their Equel proportion of Sixty Dollars. 

Voted Mr. Abner Watkins to Draw the bond for to sine. 

Voted Jason Watkins and Ebenezer Scales in Committee for to 
sell the school-house built. 

At the annual meeting of March, 1800, — 

Voted to raise $10 to defray charges. 

Voted 10 pounds for school. 

Voted to remove the fences and bars that are crost the road. 



438 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Officers for the year nearly the same as for the pre- 
cedhig year. 

At the annual meeting of March, 1801, — 
Voted Mr. Cast in Moderator. [_Cass is probably meant.] 
At the annual meeting of 1802, Ebenezer Fisk ap- 
pears, and is chosen selectman. He probably lived 
on the north side of the mountain. He was the 
father of John Fisk, who was accidentally killed in a 
saw-mill at Warner. 

Voted fifteen votes for John Langdon for Governor. 
Voted ten votes for James Flanders for senitor. 

At the annual meeting of 1803, — 

Voted to Doe nothing abont polley Simpson. 

Voted 21 votes for Langdon 6 for Gilman for Governor. 

At the annual meeting, March, 1804, Benjamin 
Cass, Ebenezer Fisk, and James Palmer were chosen 
selectmen. 

Voted that all having demands against the town shall bring 
tham Every anual meatain for afuter. 

Voted that Eich Destrect shall Bild their own school housen 
and furnish tham the meatain Dismist. 

There were two school districts in the Gore, one on 
the north and one on the south side of the mountain ; 
also, two school-houses. 

At the annual meeting, March, 1805, Jeremiah 
Brown was chosen moderator. 

Voted to raise $100 with the non-resident tax for the highway 
for the Present year. 

Voted to send a pertition to General Cort for a Committee to 
settle the Line between Salisbury and Kearsarge Gore. 



KEARSARGE GORE. 439 

Voted in Abner Watkins to be the man to present the pertiou 
to gineral Cort. 

The annual meeting of 1806 was held at the house 
of Thomas Cross on the north side of the mountain ; 
at which meeting, — 

Voted Samuel Thompson in moderator. 

Voted S. Thompson, Noah Little and Insley Greeley in Select- 
men. 

Nothing worthy of record was transacted at the 
annual meeting of 1807 Immediately following the 
account of that meeting, this record is found on the 
books of the Gore : 

Marig Covenant 
12 march 1807 than Alder Watson marid John Savery and 
Salley Straw. 

Wilmot is now incorporated, and the Gore is sev- 
ered. The part of it on the south side of the moun- 
tain still remains the Gore, and maintains its ortrani- 
zation, but the larger half is gone. In 1790 its pop- 
ulation was 103; in 1800 it was 179; in 1810 (more 
than half its territory having been dissevered) it was 
reduced to 125. 

A military company was organized in the Gore at 
an early day, and Jonathan Watkins (son of Abner) 
had the honor of taking command. This company 
came out for inspection and duty, as the companies of 
towns came, at least twice a year. In 1810 Capt. 
Watkins, with his command, met the Wilmot com- 
pany for drill and exercise on the top of Kearsarge. 



440 HISTOEY OF WARNER. 

Near the close of the day the two companies were 
brought face to face on the very sunrimit of the moun- 
tain, and a " sham fight" of great spirit was indulged 
in. This battle was 2000 feet higher than Hooker's 
celebrated fight " above the clouds," on Lookout 
Mountain. 

The annual meetings of 1808, 1809, and 1810 were 
barren of interest. In 1811 the Gore was permitted 
to have a voice, through her representative, in the 
legislative halls of the state. Wilmot and the Gore 
were classed. The meeting- was held at the school- 
house on the south side of the mountain, March 5th. 
Thomas Annis was chosen moderator. [This was not 
the first Thomas (son of Daniel), but one of the third 
generation, and he remained in the Gore but a short 
time.] The class elected Eliphalet Gay, of Wilmot, 
for representative, and then the Gore chose Eobert 
Savory, John Palmer, and Jason Watkins for select- 
men. 

Voted to postpole the 9th article tel the ajurnment. 

Thomas Annis hid of the Collector's hetli at two cents per Dol- 
lar. 

Voted A hounty on crows heads voted 12^ cents on old wons 
6 cents for young crows Killed in K Gore. 

The election of 1812 is void of interest; no repre- 
sentative appears to have been voted for. The elec- 
tion of 1813 is more lively. The warrant reads : 

In the name of the state of new hampshire we Doe hear by 
notify and warn all the freeholders and other inhahitance of the 



KEARSARGE GORE. 441 

town of Kearsarge Gore and Wilmot qualified to vote in town 
meeting to samble and meet at the school house in saide Kear- 
sarge Gore on the second day of March 1813, at one o'clock in 
the after noon to act as follows 

1, ly, to Chuse a moderator to govern said meeting 

2, ly, to vote for some Person for Representative tour general 
Cort. 

Jason Watkins ^ 

Ezra Waklron V Selectmen. 

John Palmer J 

Pursuant to this notice the towns met, and the 
record of the meeting follows : 

At a town Meeting Legally notified and holden in the town of 
Kearsarge Gore on the second day of March anno Domini 1813 
the following votes were givenin for Representative to gineral 
Cort viz, their was a Majority for Jason Watkins. 

Jason Watkins town Clark 
in the same ower Come in Wilmot and Voted for Eliphet Gay 
Representative General Cort 

Jason Watkins Town Clark. 

It will be seen that the district elected two repre- 
sentatives that day, though entitled to but one. The 
merits of the controversy cannot now be known. Gay 
certainly took his seat in June, and Watkins made no 
contest. It was alleged on the part of Gay's friends 
that Watkins was elected before the legal hour ; that 
when the Watkins party saw the Wilmot folks com- 
ing in large force down the mountain, from the Cur- 
rier Quimby place, towards Samuel Savory's, they set 
forward the nearest clock there was to the school- 
house, rushed in their votes, and elected Watkins be- 
fore the time set for the organization of the meeting. 



442 HISTORY OF AVARNER. 

General Elipbalet Gay was a man of wealth, and a 
hotel-keeper. He supplied his friends with victuals 
and drink, both to and from this meeting. They 
came, with pungs and sleighs, via Andover, Beech Hill, 
Googgins's Mills, and Smith's Corner. On arriving at 
the Gore they took possession of the polls, treating 
what had been done as a nullity. Benjamin Stanley's 
house was the scene of conflict. That was the school- 
house of the district at that time, and it stood precise- 
ly where it now stands. Many years ago it was con- 
verted into a dwelling-house. Here it was that the 
contending factions swayed to and fro ; here it was 
that victory was both won and lost. 

The meeting for town officers that year was held 
the 9th of March. John Palmer was elected moder- 
ator, and Jason Watkins, clerk. 

Isaac Palmer, Isaac Annis, and Robert Savory were 
chosen selectmen. 

Voted that the south west Corner of Salisbury should not send 
to our school With out A greein with our Selectmen. 

The list of voters of Kearsarge Gore, as made up 

by the selectmen, Feb. 16, 1814, was as follows: 

Abner Watkins, Abner Watkins, 2d, Abner Watkins, 3d, Dan- 
iel Savory, Ezra Waldron, Ezekiel Trumbull, Foster Goodwin, 
Isaac Palmer, John Palmer, Jonathan Smith, James Palmer, 
John Savory, John Palmer, Jr., Jason Watkins, Jonathan Wat- 
kins, Jabez Harvey, Jacob Waldron, Joseph Wells, Joseph Palm- 
er, Moses Palmer, Nathan Hunt, Eobert Savory, Samuel Savo- 
ry, Samuel Wells, Stephen Stanley, William Harwood. 

The proceedings of the annual meeting of the Gore 



KEARSARGE GORE. 443 

in March, 1814, were commonplace, and they need 
not be recounted. 

The district meeting, for the choice of representa- 
tive, was held at Wilmot, and though not a man from 
the Gore attended that meeting, Jason Watkins was 
triumphantly elected representative, and he served 
his constituents faithfully in the legislature of the 
state. Undoubtedly there was a feeling abroad in 
the district that Watkins was unfairly treated in 1813. 

Jason Watkins was born in Joppa. He was a son 
of Abner Watkins, senior, and the father of Abner, 3d 
(who held many positions in Warner), and of the wife 
of William G. Flanders. 

Nov. 10, 1814, the selectmen of Kearsarge Gore, 
and of Wilmot, established or confirmed the boundary 
line between the two territories. They left it pre- 
ciselv as it stands in the charter of Wilmot of 1807. 
Their report is signed as follows : 

Isaac Palmer ) Selectmen 

\ of 

Robert Savory ) Kearsarge Gore. 

Samuel Kimball ) Selectmen 
Obadiah Clougli ) Wilmot. 

At the annual meeting, March 7, 1815, holden at 
the school-house in the Gore for the choice of a repre- 
sentative, Eliphalet Gay was chosen moderator, and 
J. Youngman. of Wilmot, representative. 

The proceedings of the local meeting of that year 

29 



444 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

would not interest the reader, nor would those of 
181G or 1817; 

As the election of March 10, 1818, was the last 
election ever held in Kearsarge Gore, the record of 
its proceedings is given in full. 

John Palmer, Jr., was chosen moderator, 

Jason Watkins, town-clerk. 

John Palmer, Jr., Abner Watkins, Jr., and Kobert Savory, 
were chosen selectmen. 

James Ferrin (the father of the late Lorenzo, and of Stephen 
I^.), Jabez Harvey, and Jonathan B . Watkins were chosen fence 
viewers, and Daniel Savory, surveyor of lumber. 

Voted to raise $75 to defray town charges the present year. 

John Watkins bid off the Collector's berth at four cents per 
Dollar. 

Voted to have meetings of worsJiip in the School house. 

The last vote above was the last ever given in 
Kearsarge Gore as a municipal organization, for, by 
act of the legislature of the state, approved June 13, 
1818, the Gore was annexed to, and made forever 
thereafter part and parcel of, the town of Warner. 



OHAPTEE XXXI. 

POST-MASTERS DEPUTY SHERIFFS LAWYERS PH YSICI ANS 

COLLEGE GRADUATES HIGH-SCHOOL TEACHERS DEBATING 

CLUBS LITERARY MEN AND WOMEN. 

(here was no post-office in Warner till 1813. 
Before the year 1800 nothing like an efficient 
post-office establishment existed in the country. In 
1791 the legislature of New Hampshire passed a law 
establishing "four routes for posts, to be thereafter 
appointed to ride in and through the interior of the 
state." 

These " posts," or riders, were appointed, two of 
whom started out from Concord, and two from Ports- 
mouth. They went out one way and returned anoth- 
er, making a round trip a week. They took the mail 
matter that accumulated at these principal offices, and 
in this way it was distributed. They " carried and 
fetched." The first rider, starting from Concord, rode 
through Weare, New Boston, Amherst, Wilton, Tem- 
ple, Peterborough, Dublin, Marlborough, Keene, West- 
moreland, Walpole, Alstead, Acworth, Charlestown, 
Claremont, Newport, Lempster, Washington, Hills- 
borough, Henniker, and Hopkinton, to Concord. 



446 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

The second rider, starting also from Concord, rode 
through Boscawen, Salisbury, Andover, New Chester, 
Plymouth, Haverhill, Piermont, Orford, Lyme, Han- 
over, Lebanon, Enfield, Canaan, Grafton, Alexandria, 
and Salisbury, to Concord. The other two started out 
from Portsmouth, and performed their circuits in the 
southern and eastern sections of the state. 

As late as December 31, 1809, David George, post- 
master at Concord, published a list of letters remain- 
ing in the office at that place, which contained the 
following out-of-town names : 

Richard H. A_yer, Dunbarton ; Miss Marj Carter, Bow ; Tim- 
othy Chandler, Daniel Cooledge, Miss Hannah Corbett, Canter- 
bury ; Prine Ayers, Northfield ; Jeremiah Eastman, Mrs. Eliza- 
beth Mirick, John Noyes, Henniker; Nathaniel Green, Rev. 
Christopher Page, Daniel Young, Hopkinton ; Rev. Sebastian 
Streeter, John Maynard, Weare ; Daniel Lord, Bradford. 

In 1813 a post-office was established at Warner 
Lower Village, and Henry B. Chase w^as the first post- 
master. He held the office till 1817.v when Dr. Henry 
Lyman was appointed, who held it till 1825, when 
Levi Bartlett was appointed. Mr. Bartlett held the 
office till 1830, when it was discontinued. 

During the year 1829, and a part of the year 1830, 
there was an office at Waterloo, and Philip Colby, Jr., 
was post-master. This office, and that at the Lower 
Village, were consolidated in the year 1830, and es- 
tablished at Warner village, with H. D. Robertson for 
post-master. He held the office till 1844, when George 






/^ 




ALONZO C. CAEROLL. 447 

A. Pillsbiir}^ was appointed. William Carter, Jr., suc- 
ceeded Mr. Pillsbury in 1849, and Oilman C. Sanborn 
succeeded Mr. Carter in 1851. In 1855, Abner B. Kel- 
lej was appointed ; in 1862, Hiram Buswell, who 
held the office fifteen years. In 1877 the present 
incumbent, E. H. Carroll, was appointed, 

Mr. Buswell was from Grantham. He came to 
Warner when a young man, and engaged in the 
business of painting. No other man has held the 
post-office as long as he. He has also held the office 
of commissioner for Merrimack county two years. 

In 1865 another office was established at Waterloo, 
and Walter H. Bean was appointed post-master. He 
resigned, after holding the office six or eight months, 
and T. Leavitt Dowlin was appointed. The office was 
discontinued after an existence of a year or two. 

In 1871 an office was established at Roby's Corner, 
with Moses H. Roby as post-master, which continues 
unchanged. 

Alonzo C. Carroll, the father of the present post- 
master of Warner, was born at Croydon, Nov. 24, 
1826. His parents were John P. and Rachel Carroll. 
When he was 12 years of age his mother died, and 
the family was broken up. He and one of his sisters 
went to Grafton to live with a relative, where they 
remained together five years, and till the marriage of 
the sister. Then for two or three years Alonzo C. 
was found at Quincy, Mass., driving a stone-team 



448 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

from the quarries to Boston. He returned to Grafton, 
and bought the old " Horton farm," which he carried 
on for three years. In 1851 he removed to South 
Sutton, and engaged in the stove business, and in 
1853 he added to this a dry-goods and grocery store. 
At the same time he was concerned in the patent- 
right business. In 1860, having sold out his interests 
at South Sutton, he went into partnership with Geo. 
Putney, in manufacturing bobbins at Sutton Mill Vil- 
laore. In 1863 he reeno-as-ed in the stove business, 
and in 1867 went into trade with George Thompson, 
at the Potter Place. 

, In 1868 he bought out. Hale & Adams, at the 
Robertson store, in Warner, and commenced trade 
there. He kept the Winslow House, on Kearsarge 
mountain, during the season of 1869. In April, 1870, 
he commenced trade in the Union Hall building, 
where he still continues. Besides carrying on a large 
trade at this place, he kept the Warner and Kearsarge 
Mountain House through the season of 1874, and a 
part of the season of 1875. In the summer of 1878 
he again took charge of the hotel, and, in his hands, it 
is a popular and well-patronized summer resort. 

Mr. Carroll married, in 1849, Miss M. A. Hale, who 
died in 1866, leaving two sons, — Clarence F. and E. 
H. Carroll. In September, 1868, he married Miss 
Margaret H. Adams, of Warner. His oldest son is a 
successful school-teacher, and his youngest, when not 



DEPUTY SHERIFFS. 449 

occupied in the post-office, is engaged in the store of 
his father. 

DEPUTY SHERIFFS. 

The first deputy sheriff in Warner was Calvin Flan- 
ders, son of James. He lived at the place in the 
Lower Village where the late Zebulon Davis lived 
and died. He was appointed about the year 1790, 
and held the office nearly twenty years. 

In 1808 George W. Kelley was appointed. He also 
lived at the Lower Village. He was a son of Sheriff 
Moses Kelley, of Hopkinton, and Moses was a brother 
to Rev. William, the first minister in town. 

Mr. Kelley performed the duties of this office till 
1813, when Richard Pattee, who kept the hotel at the 
Carter place, was appointed. 

In 1816 Capt. Joseph Smith received the appoint- 
ment. He continued in possession of the office till 
1820, though in 1819 Stephen Currier, Jr., and John 
Kimball were deputized for a special purpose, which 
will hereafter appear. 

Capt. Smith had been many years in the regular 
army before the war of 1812, and had been stationed 
both at Boston and at Portland. He was captain of 
the Warner company, in " the last war with England." 
His home was at the Dr. Eaton house, where he died, 
November, 1824, aged 50. 

In 1820 Stephen Currier, Jr., was the only sheriff, 
and he continued such till 1829. While sheriff his 



450 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

home was at the Lower Village. His flither was Dan- 
iel CiiiTier, of Joppa ; his son Charles occupies the 
old homestead. 

In 1829 Stephen George (who held the office till 
1838) was appointed. He was a son of John George, 
and a brother to John, 2d, and to Daniel and Joshua. 
He died in Michigan, while on a journey to the West. 

Franklin Simonds succeeded Mr. George as sheriff, 
in 1838, and continued in the office till 1856, a period 
of eighteen years. 

In 1856, John Currier, Jr., was appointed. 

In 1863, Gilbert Davis. 

In 1868, Albert P. Davis. 

In 1876, George N. Tewksbury. 

In 1877, the present incumbent, David C. Harriman. 

LAWYERS. 

Nathaniel Green, a brother to Judge Samuel Green, 
was the first lawyer to hang out a sign in Warner. 
He opened an office at the Lower Village, near 
Joseph Bartlett's, in 1795 ; but not finding a very 
promising field to cultivate, he remained in town but 
a 3'ear or two. 

Jeremiah Hall Woodman came in 1797, but re- 
mained no longer than his predecessor. He removed 
to Dover in 1798, and became a lawyer of large prac- 
tice and good standing. 

Parker Noyes was the third in the line of succes- 



LAWYERS. 451 

sion. He was reared in South Hampton. He came 
to Warner in 1799, and opened his first office. It 
was at the Lower Village. After remaining in town 
two years, he took down his sign and carried it to 
what is now Frankhn Lower Village. At this place 
his office was just across the road from Capt. Eben- 
ezer Webster's, and Daniel Webster was his law stu- 
dent. He was offered a seat on the supreme bench 
by Gov. Morrill, but declined it on account of ill 
health. 

Henry B. Chase was the fourth lawyer in Warner. 
He came in 1805, and remained through life. [See a 
preceding chapter.] 

Harrison Gray Harris was the next in order, and 
the first at Warner village. He was born in the beau- 
tiful town of Harvard, Mass., in 1790. He read law 
mainly with his brother, Judge John Harris, of Hop- 
kinton ; was admitted to the bar in 1815, and com- 
menced practice in Warner in 1816. He held some 
of the public offices of the town ; connected farming 
with his law business for many years; and finally 
made agriculture his chief pursuit. He w^as eminent 
in his day in the Masonic order, as was his son (John 
A.) after him. He died at Warner, March, 1875, 
aged 84. 

Edward B. West was the sixth lawyer in town. He 
came from Concord about the year 1848, remained a 
few years, and then changed his residence to Nashua, 



452 HISTORY OF W^ARNER. 

where he was actively engaged in liis profession some 
ten or twelve years. He then accepted a government 
office at the Navy Yard, and removed to Portsmouth, 
where he now resides. 

Samuel Davis, Jr., a native of Bradford, graduated 
at West Point, studied law, and was admitted to the 
bar. He opened an office first at Enfield, but came 
from there to Warner as early as 1859. He has not 
given his whole attention to the law, but has connect- 
ed farming and the care of schools with it. In the 
war of the Rebellion he was major of the IGth N. H. 
regiment. Since the war he has served in various 
town offices, and two years in the legislature of the 
state. 

Albert P. Davis was born at Warner, Mav 2, 1835. 
He is descended from an ancient family. Willi Davis, 
a native of Wales, came to New England in 1640. 
He took the freeman's oath at Amesbury in 1645. On 
the 2d day of December, 1677, his sons, Francis and 
Samuel, together with " a large number of the sons of 
the first settlers," took the same oath. This Willi (or 
William) and this Francis were the ancestors of Capt. 
Francis and his brother Gideon, the great-grandfather 
of the subject of this sketch. Gideon settled on the 
Moses E. Davis farm in 1782, and the farm has re- 
mained in the hands of the family to the present day. 

The sons of Gideon and Mary (Cheney) Davis w^ere 
John, Robert, Gideon, Moses, and Oliver j and the 




zjr^- jOch^<^-^ 



ALBERT P. DAVIS. 453 

daughters were Molly, Ruth, and Anna. The children 
of the above-named John and Mary (Pervere) Davis 
were John, Sally, Rachel, Lois, Zaccheus, and Eleazer. 
Zaccheus married Lucinda Pervere of Sandown, and 
to this couple were born Albert P., Mary, Charles S., 
and Zaccheus. Albert P. married Lavonia W., daugh- 
ter of Abner Harvej^, Jr. They have two children, 
Ida M. and Woodbury E. 

Albert P. Davis received a good academic educa- 
tion, and for some fifteen years was a well known and 
popular school-teacher. He served as deputy sherifl 
from 1868 to 1876, and while in the discharge of the 
duties of this office he devoted his leisure hours to 
the study of the law. Being admitted to the bar in 
1876, after a rigid examination, he went immediately 
into practice as a lawyer in his native town, where 
his success has been equal to his highest expectation. 

As a newspaper correspondent he wields a ready pen, 
and ranks with the enterprising writers of the day. 

To the foregoing list of lawyers may be added the 
names of such as have been reared in Warner and 
have followed the profession elsewhere. 

John Kelley, the oldest son of Rev. Wm. Kelley, 
was a lawyer. He commenced business in North- 
wood, where he had gratifying success. Desiring a 
larger town for a home, he went to Exeter, and there 
remained through life. He was register of probate 



454 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

for Rockingham county a great many years ; was also 
a member of the legislature of the state, and of the 
constitutional convention of 1850. 

Stephen C. Badger was a lawyer by profession. 
His first office was at New London, After remaining 
there a few years he removed to Concord. For a 
long time he was clerk of the courts of Merrimack 
county. He was also assistant justice of the police 
court of Concord. His wife was a daughter of Benja- 
min Evans. 

Henry B. Chase, the second (a son of Henry B.), 
graduated at Dartmouth about the year 1839 ; studied 
law, and settled in Louisiana, where he still remains, 
in the enjoyment of a lucrative practice. 

Herman Foster read law with Henry B. Chase, 
opened an office in Manchester, and was successful in 
his profession. 

John H. Watson, a son of Capt. Cyrus Watson, be- 
came a successful lawyer and editor in Lawrence, 
Mass. 

Edwin W. Harriman, a son of John, read law, and 
was admitted to the bar in Concord in 1864. He 
shortly afterwards went into practice in tlie state of 
Iowa, where he died in 1865 or 1866. 

John George, son of Joshua, was also admitted to 
the bar at Concord in 1864. [See Chapter XXVIL] 

Walter Channing Harriman read law at Concord, 
first with L. D. Stevens, and then with Tappan & 



HERMAN FOSTER. 455 

Albin. He was admitted to the bar, at Concord, Dec. 
13, 1876, and commenced business at Portsmouth 
April, 1877. He is now sohcitor for Rockingham 
county. 

Jesse Pattee, a son of Stephen C, read law at 
Haverhill, N. H., and was admitted to the bar in 
1877. Soon after being admitted, he went into prac- 
tice at Brockton, Mass., where he now is. 

George L. Ordway (son of N. G.) was admitted to 
the bar in 1878. He served on the staff of Governor 
Prescott, with the rank of colonel. In March, 1879, 
he commenced business in the line of his profession at 
Denver, Colorado. 

Herman Foster was born at Andover, Mass., Oct. 
31, 1800. He was a descendant of Reginald Foster, 
who came from Exeter, England, and settled at Ips- 
wich, Mass., in 1638. His grandfather, Obediah, was 
born in 1741, and his fother, John, in 1770, at An- 
dover. The other children of John Foster are Mrs. 
E. S. Badger, of Warner ; John, a leading merchant of 
Boston ; and George (now of Bedford), who served 
several years as selectman of Warner, and who has 
since been two years in the state senate from the 
third district. 

The subject of this notice removed with his flither's 
family from Andover, Mass., to Hudson, N. H, in 1810. 
He had prepared for college at an early day, but a 
disease of the eyes prevented him from pursuing a 



456 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

college course. He was engaged in mercantile busi- 
ness a number of years. In November, 1826, he was 
married to Harriet M. A. Whittemore, of West Cam- 
bridge. He removed to Warner in March, 1830, and 
purchased the Ballard farm, on which he lived eight 
years. He then removed to Warner Lower Village, 
and commenced the study of the law with Hon. 
Henry B. Chase. Being admitted to the bar, he com- 
menced practice in Manchester in 1840, where he 
died Feb. 17, 1875, aged 74. He left no children. 
Mrs. Foster still survives. 

He was a representative in the state legislature in 
1845, 1846, 1868; and 1869, and was state senator in 
1860 and 1861. The latter year he was the president 
of that body. 

He was appointed assessor of internal revenue by 
President Lincoln, in 1862, but, after holding the 
otiice a few months, he resigned. In 1861 Dartmouth 
college conferred on him the honorary degree of Mas- 
ter of Arts. 

He held a high position as a lawyer, and was much 
valued as a counsellor in important cases. 

Mr. Foster, while living in Warner, became greatly 
attached to the town and people, and this attachment 
continued fresh and strong to the end of his days. 



^} 





0t^//2^a^^^ c>rc^< 




"TeA^ 



THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. 457 



PHYSICIANS. 



Esculapius was the god of medicine among the 
ancient pagans. Luke, in divine revelation, is called 
the " beloved physician." He was the friend and com- 
panion of Paul. He wrote the book that bears his 
name ; also the Acts of the Apostles. The profession 
has ancient and high authority, and a good physician 
is ever a welcome friend. It is believed that Warner 
has had its share of acceptable physicians. 

1. Dr. John Currier was the first. He lived at the 
Carter stand. Very little is known of him or his 
connections. He gave more attention to farming and 
to the hotel than to his profession. Possibly he may 
not have been an acknowledged M. D. 

2. Dr. Cogswell was the next physician in Warner. 
He married a daughter of Elliot Colby, but remained 
in town only a short time. 

3. Dr. John Hall was from Chelmsford, Mass. His 
first place of residence in Warner was at the Felton 
place, just above Ira P. Whittier's. At his next place 
of residence in town, which was at the John Colby 
house on the Plain, he lived many years. He finally 
removed to Maine, and died there thirty or forty 
years ago. 

4. Dr. Thomas Webster was from Haverhill, Mass. 
He lived near the Georges at the Lower Village. He 
built and occupied the one-story house that Mrs. 



458 HISTORY OF WARNER. ^ 

Charles George occupied many years, and till its de- 
struction by fire. 

5. Dr. William Dinsmoor was from Goffstown. He 
boarded at Pattee's tavern at the Lower Village. 
While in Warner he married a sister of Jonathan and 
Matthew Harvey, and shortly after his marriage re- 
moved to Henniker. 

6. Dr. Henry Lyman came from Lebanon about 
the 3'ear 1806. He had a large practice in Warner 
some twenty or twenty-five years. He died Septem- 
ber, 1829, aged 43, and was buried at the Parade. 

7. Dr. Silas Walker was from Goffstown. He came 
and settled at the Lower Village about the year 1810, 
but remained in town only a few years. 

8. Dr. Jacob Straw came in 1819, and boarded at 
Levi Bartlett's, in the Lower Village. After a resi- 
dence of a year or two in Warner, he went to Henni- 
ker, and there finished his work. He was two years 
in the state senate. 

9. Dr. Moses Long was from Hopkinton. He es- 
tablished himself in Warner not far from 1820, his 
first office being at the Centre village. His second 
office and home in Warner was at the Lower Villacre, 
where he continued in practice fifteen or eighteen 
years. In 1835 he removed to Rochester, N. Y., 
and there followed his profession a few years. He 
then went with his brother. Col. Stephen H. Long, 
into bridge-building in Mississippi, but returned to 
Rochester, and died there twenty-five years ago. 



PHYSICIANS. 459 

10. Dr. Caleb Buswell came from Grantham, and 
settled at the Centre village. [See Ch. XXIV.] 

11. Dr. Leonard Eaton, a son of Nathaniel, was 
born June 10, 1800, at the Putnam place, just within 
the limits of Hopkinton. Nathaniel Eaton, the father, 
was from Haverhill, Mass. On coming back into the 
country he first settled at the Putnam place, but after 
remaining there a few years removed to Sutton, 
where his son, George C, now resides. He died in 
May, 1875. 

Leonard Eaton studied medicine with Dr. Caleb 
Buswell, and received his degree at the Dartmouth 
Medical College. He was a successful physician at 
Warner through life. He served several years as 
town-clerk, two years as representative, and two as 
senator for district No. 8. He was also a member of 
the constitutional convention of 1850. 

Dr. Eaton married a daughter of Hon. Benjamin 
Evans, and had three daughters, the youngest of 
whom, Mrs. Hilliard Davis, died several years ago. 
The other two are Miss Susan Eaton, and Maria, wife 
of Hon. John Y. Mugridge, of Concord. Dr. Eaton 
died in November, 1867, at the age of 67 years. 

12. Dr. Stevens was from Charlestown, Mass. He 
commenced practice in Warner (his office being at 
the Lower Village) in 1831, remained a year or two, 
and then returned to his " native heath." 

13. Dr. Parmalee was from Lebanon. He came 
30 



460 HISTOEY OF WARNER. 

into town in 1835, or thereabouts, and he was both 
at the Lower Village and at Waterloo. Henry B. 
Chase was his uncle. 

14. Dr. Charles A. Savory came from Hopkinton to 
Warner, not far from 1844. After an extensive prac- 
tice of four years' duration in town, he removed to 
Lowell, Mass., where he still continues in the profession. 

15. Dr. Parsons Whidden was from Canterbury. 
He came to Warner when Dr. Savory left, took his 
place, and remained in town a number of years. 

16. Dr. John M. Fitts was from Boscawen. He 
commenced business in Warner not for from 1854, 
remained five or six years, and went to Sutton. 

17. Dr. Moses S. Wilson was from Salisbury. In 
1859 he went into practice in Warner, married a 
daughter of Ira Harvey, returned to his native town, 
and, in company with his father, who was also a phy- 
sician, was in active business there till the war; was 
assistant surgeon in the 7th N. H. regiment; went 
to Illinois after the war, and died there, a young man, 
several years ago. 

18. Dr. John G. Parker came to Warner from Dub- 
lin in 1860. A good physician, but he died at War- 
ner in 1867. 

19. Dr. Frank W. Graves was from Concord. He 
settled in Warner in 1864, and was in active practice 
in town five or six years. He is now settled in Wo- 
burn, Mass. 



PHYSICIANS. 461 

20. Dr. J. M. Rix came from Dalton in 1867, and 
is now in Warner. 

21. Dr. J. R. Cogswell came from Littleton in 1874, 
and is now in Warner. 

The names of those who have gone out from War- 
ner, as physicians, will be given from recollection, and 
the list may be very inaccurate. 

Dr. John E. Dalton was a son of Dea. Isaac Dalton. 
After taking his degree as a physician, he decided to 
cast his lot in the West. He made the long journey 
to Ohio by stage, by canal, and by steamboat, about 
the year 1832. He settled in Ohio, where he contin- 
ued in practice many years. . He is still somewhere 
in the Great West. 

Dr. Daniel Davis, a son of Capt. Jacob Davis, com- 
menced practice at Wellfleet, on Cape Cod, when a 
young man, married his wife there, made that his 
home, and died there a few years since. 

Dr. James F. Sargent was a son of Joseph, and a 
grandson of Joseph Sargent, senior, of Schoodac. He 
pursued his medical studies with Dr. Moses Long, 
graduated at Dartmouth, and commenced practice at 
Lowell, Mass., in 1834. Subsequently, for several 
years, he enjoyed a successful practice at Contoocook- 
ville, and, at a later day, a like practice at Concord, 
where he died in 1864, at the age of 54. 

Dr. Dana D. Davis was a son of Stephen Davis. 
He took his degree as a physician, married the only 



462 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

daughter of Levi Bartlett, went to Louisiana, and com- 
menced business there with flattering prospects. He 
died of yellow fever, at Baton Kouge, in 1844. His 
son (Wm. D. Davis) he never saw, as he was born 
after the father's departure for the South. 

Dr. Moses Hill was a son of Benjamin Hill, whose 
farm was that now owned by the town. Moses was 
born at that place. He commenced practice in Man- 
chester, then settled in Iowa, and died on a visit to 
Louisiana. 

Dr. Henry L. Watson is claimed as a Warner boy. 
He was a son of Ithamar Watson, of Salisbury, who 
lived a number of years in Warner. Dr. Watson 
commenced his professional work at Guildhall, Ver- 
mont, where he had an extensive practice, but twelve 
or fifteen years ago he changed his residence to Lit- 
tleton, N. H. He is well situated at the latter place. 

Dr. David Bagley was a son of David Bagley, of 
Melvin's Mills, and a grandson of Ebenezer Bagley, 
who came from Amesbury, and settled on the shore 
of the pond near Salisbury line, which takes his 
name. Dr. Bagley commenced practice in the state 
of Georgia twenty or thirty years ago, and his " flag 
is still there." 

Dr. Wm. S. Collins, a son of Enos, received a good 
academic education, studied medicine, took his degree 
at Dartmouth, and commenced business in Grafton, 
where he remained five years. Afterwards he was 



PHYSICIANS. 463 

actively engaged in his profession at Loudon some 
twenty-one years, and he is now located in Nashua. 

Dr. Luther Pattee, a son of Asa, has been estab- 
lished in business at Candia, Wolfeborough, and Man- 
chester. He is now at the latter place, in the enjoy- 
ment of a lucrative practice. 

Dr. Asa F. Pattee, another of the sons of Asa, be- 
gan in Amesbury, the old parent of Warner. He 
went from there to Boston, where his situation is 
entirely satisfactory. 

Dr. Byron Harriman, a son of John, studied medi- 
cine under the direction of Gage & Moulton, at Con- 
cord, took his degree at Hanover, and went into 
practice in Iowa. He has given attention to other 
business as well as to his profession, and has been suc- 
cessful. He is at present the mayor of the city of 
Hampton, Iowa, to which office he has been three 
times elected. 

Dr. Luther Harvey, a son of Ira Harvey, pursued 
his studies, in part, with Dr. Wilson, in Illinois. After 
taking his degree, he commenced practice in that 
state with flattering prospects. 

Dr. William H. Pattee, son of Stephen C, studied 
medicine with Dr. Luther Pattee, attended lectures at 
Dartmouth, and received his degree at the University 
of Vermont, in 1877. He is now in practice at Bel- 
mont, N. H. 

Dr. Benjamin E. Harriman studied medicine under 



464 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

the direction of Dr. A. H. Crosby, of Concord, attend- 
ed lectures at the University of Vermont, and at 
Belle vue Hospital Medical College, N. Y., and gradu- 
ated at Dartmouth in the fall of 1877. He opened 
an office in Manchester the following December, 
broke down in health in June, 1878, and is now 
(March, 1879) in Florida, where he has been spending 
the winter. 

COLLEGE GRADUATES. 

Warner has been more noted for giving her sons 
and daughters a good, practical education, than for 
sending them away to colleges and other popular 
institutions of learning ; hence the list of graduates 
is not large. 

John Kelley, who is spoken of elsewhere, is believed 
to have been the first Warner student to take a de- 
gree at college. He graduated at Dartmouth in 1804. 

Hosea Wheeler graduated in 1811 at the same col- 
lege. He became a Baptist minister, and died at 
Eastport, Maine, in 1823. He was a son of Daniel 
Wheeler, who came from Amesbury, and lived at the 
John Reddington place on Warner river. The other 
sons of Daniel, senior, were Daniel, Abijah, Gideon, 
and Leonard. 

John Morrill graduated at Amherst college, and be- 
came a missionary in the West. His family is un- 
known to the writer. 

Asa Putney, who was a son of Asa, senior, grad- 



COLLEGE GRADUATES. 465 

uated .at Amherst not far from the year 1820. He 
became a Congregational minister, and preached at 
Croydon, and in Vermont. 

Stephen C. Badger graduated at Dartmouth in 
1823. [See a preceding page.] 

Richard Bean, a son of Nathaniel, senior, received 
a "liberal education ;" but, owing to some difficulty 
with the authority of the college, he did not take his 
degree. He studied law, but had hardly completed 
his studies when he died. 

Samuel Morrill, a brother to William K., graduated 
at Dartmouth in 1835, and died while a member of 
the Bangor Seminary. 

James Madison Putney, a son of Amos, and grand- 
son of Asa, senior, graduated at Dartmouth, taught 
an academy in Kentucky, and died there about the 
year 1840. 

Henry B. Chase, son of Hon. Henry B., graduated 
at Dartmouth in 1839. [See a preceding page.] 

John George, son of Major Daniel, graduated at 
Dartmouth not far from 1845, and died shortly after 
his graduation. 

Ezekiel Dimond graduated at Middlebury, Vt, be- 
came Professor of Chemistry in the Agricultural col- 
lege at Hanover, and died, a young man, in 1872. 
His grandfather, Ezekiel, settled in the Mirick district; 
his father, Ezekiel, lived at the Ballard place, where 
Prof Dimond was born. 



466 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Edmund S. Hoyt, son of Major Stephen K., grad- 
uated at Dartmouth. He is now in the book trade, 
and is a pubHsher of books at Portland, Maine. 

John C. Ager, son of Uriah, graduated at New 
Church college, Urbana, Ohio, in 1858. [See Chapter 
XXXIIL] 

Charles Alfred Pillsbury, son of George A., was 
born at Warner, Oct. 3, 1842. He graduated at 
Dartmouth college in the class of 1863. Soon after 
receiving his diploma he went into a wholesale provi- 
sion house at Montreal, with John E. Robertson. He 
remained there some four years, and then removed 
to Minneapolis, where he engaged in the manufacture 
of flour. The well known firm of C. A. Pillsbury & 
Co. consists of himself, George A., John S., and Fred 
C. Charles A. Pillsbury has been elected a state sen- 
ator in his district for six years. 

Henry L., a son of Barnard Colby, commenced his 
studies at Dartmouth, remained two years, and then 
entered the army. He died shortly after the close 
of the war. 

George L., son of N. G. Ordway, graduated at the 
Rochester (New York) University in 1875. [See a 
preceding page.] 

George F., son of Stephen S. Bean, is about to 
graduate at Brown University, Providence, R. I. 



EDUCATIONAL. 



HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS. 



467 



The first term of the Warner high school com- 
menced Dec. 4, 1871. 

E. C. Cole, A. B., a native of Bethel, Maine, and a 
graduate of Bowdoin college, was principal of this 
school during the first three years of its existence. 

N. N. Atkinson, A. B., of Minot, Maine, a graduate 
of Colby University (Waterville), was principal dur- 
ing the next two years. 

William Goldthwaite, A. B., a graduate of Colby 
University, succeeded Mr. Atkinson, and is yet the 
principal of the school. 

Miss Helen E. Gilbert, a graduate of Concord high 
school, was assistant teacher one year. 

Miss Annie B. Westgate, of Plainfield, a graduate 
of New London Scientific Institution, was assistant 
one year. 

Miss M. F. Reddin":ton, dauohter of Oliver P. Red- 
dington, and a graduate of Warner high school, was 
assistant during the third year. 

Stephen S. Bean, of Warner, was assistant two 
years. 

Miss Alice P. Goodwin, of Franklin, was assistant 
one year. 

Miss Emma E. Phelps was assistant two terms, and 
Miss Annie M. Hill, of Concord, was assistant one 
term. 



468 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Miss M. F. Reddino'ton, liavino; been absent from 
the school two years, and having graduated during 
that time at the New London Scientific Institution, 
returned, and accepted the position of first assistant, 
which she now fills. 

DEBATING CLUBS. 

At various times between 1835 and 1850, debating 
clubs existed and jQourished in Warner. In the years 
1846 and 1847, in jDarticular, a deep interest was felt 
in these clubs. Walker's hall (the only hall then in 
town) was crowded to overflowing on the evening of 
each debate. In those years, instead of excluding all 
religious and political questions, — all questions of an 
exciting nature, — such, only, were the questions se- 
lected. Many of the debates were able and instruc- 
tive, and the audiences were highly entertained. 
Though their zeal ran high, the disputants generally 
maintained a respectful and manly bearing. The 
names of those who participated in these debates are 
given from recollection, and are as follows : 

Levi Bartlett, B. E. Harriman, Stephen K. Hoyt, 
John Colby (the drover), H. H. Harriman, Chirk Sar- 
gent, Geo. A. Pillsbury, Dr. C. A. Savory, John Foster, 
B. F. Harriman, John Currier, Jr., Rev. R. W. Fuller, 
Levi Flanders, Wm. K. Bartlett, Jesse D. Currier, S. 
S. Bean, W. Harriman. 




^j^ /^.^r^T^C^ 



LEVI BARTLETT. 469 

LITERARY MEN AND WOMEN. 

Levi Bartlett was born April 29, 1793. His grand- 
father, Simeon Bartlett, was one of the proprietors of 
Warner. His father, the late Joseph Bartlett, Esq., 
was a country trader at the Lower Village for over 
thirty years, and was quite extensively engaged in 
farming, and in the manufacture of potash. " Squire 
Bartlett " had six sons and four daughters, Levi be- 
ing the second child. When about 12 years of age 
he was employed in his father's store for a couple of 
years. When he was 14 years of age his father placed 
him in the bookstore of Thomas & Whipple, at New- 
buryport. Like many another country lad among 
strangers, he was woefully homesick, and was allowed 
to return, at the end of a few months, to the paternal 
roof At the age of 16 he was sent to Salem, Mass., 
to the West India goods store of his uncle, James 
Thorndike; but the embargo and non-intercourse with 
foreio-n nations caused a stag-nation in business. Mer- 
chants failed on every hand, and young Bartlett be- 
came utterly disgusted with " store-keeping." He 
wrote to his father that " tanners were the lords of 
creation," and that no business but tanning appeared 
to be prosperous in and about Salem. In the summer 
of 1810 he left Salem and returned home. His father 
built a tannery opposite his house, in which the young 
man was placed, with experienced workmen, and in 



470 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

due time he took charge of the business. He contin- 
ued in it, with varying success, till 1838. when, yield- 
ing to an ever-increasing desire to become a tiller of 
the soil, he sold out his tanneries and began the rec- 
lamation of an exhausted farm, which came, at that 
time, into his possession. The farm was situated near- 
ly, a mile from his home, and he and his men trav- 
elled daily the hilly road between the two places 
till his house was destroyed by fire in 1843, when 
he built upon and removed to the farm, where he has 
ever since resided. 

Mr. Bartlett, in 1844, was invited to become a reg- 
ular contributor to the New England Farmer, and 
from that date, till long after he had passed his 
eightieth year, he wrote regularly for various agri- 
cultural periodicals. He was assistant editor of the 
Journal of Agriculture, at Boston, during its brief life. 
He wrote constantly for the Country Gentleman, and 
occasionally for the Farmer's 3Ionihly Visitor, the 
Statesman, and the Manchester Mirror. He was as- 
sociate editor of the Boston CiiUivator in 1848 and 
1849. His writings have been- published in the peri- 
odicals of various states of the Union, and have some- 
times been copied into English papers. When an 
"Advisory Board of Agriculture of the Patent Office" 
met at Washington in 1859, Mr. Bartlett was selected 
by a committee from that board to represent New 
Hampshire, and he was present during its session of 



LEVI BARTLETT. 471 

eight days. A year later, when a series of important 
lectures on scientific agriculture was to be given at 
Yale college, Hon. Henry F. French, then of Exeter, 
and now the assistant secretary of the treasury at 
Washington, and Mr. Bartlett, were invited from this 
state to be present. 

After he had passed his eightieth birthday, he be- 
gan and completed a " Genealogical and Historical 
Account of the Bartlett Family," which has been 
largely distributed. He claims one Adam Bartelot, 
who came over to England from Normandy with the 
Conquerer, and settled in Sussex, as the founder of 
the family. The preparation of this work cost a vast 
amount of patient research and labor. 

In politics, Mr. Bartlett was a Federalist, " dyed 
in the wool," and consequently was not liable to be 
troubled with office in a town that was for many 
years the very " keystone of the Democratic arch of 
New Hampshire." He, however, held the office of 
post-master for the five years immediately preceding 
Gen. Jackson's term at the White House. 

Mr. Bartlett attended the district school at the 
Lower Village, and was a student a term or two at 
the academy in Amesbury, Mass., but this somewhat 
meagre training was supplemented by constant, va- 
ried, and extensive reading, and particularly by the 
study of geology and chemistry as connected with 
agriculture. He acquired a great amount of useful 



472 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

information, and he is always ready to communicate 
from his store of facts and anecdotes, to any with 
wlioni he comes in contact. 

June 1, 1815, Mr. Bartlett married Hannah, only 
daughter of Rev. Wm. Kelley, the first minister of 
Warner. They had two children, who lived to ma- 
ture age, — viz., William K., born July 21, 1816, and 
Lavina K., born March 14, 1818. William K. Bartlett 
married Harriet N., daughter of Nathan Walker. In 
his early days he was considerably engaged in teach- 
ing, and for fifteen ^^ears was clerk in the New York 
& Erie Railroad Co., most of the time residing at Port 
Jervis. He resigned this position in 1868 on account 
of failing health, and he now resides at East Concord, 
occupying his time in tilling the soil, and in corre- 
sponding for the papers. Lavina K., the daughter, 
married Dr. Dana D. Davis [see a preceding page]. 
Her only son and child, Wm. D. Davis, is a clerk in 
the custom house at New York city. 

Dr. Moses Long was a man of education and cul- 
ture. He had decided literary tastes, and he wrote and 
published several valuable articles. One of these, which 
he called " Historical Sketches of Warner," he pub- 
lished in pamphlet form about the year 1830. Speak- 
ing of the productions of Warner in these sketches, 
the Doctor says, " melons, squashes, and 2:)om2yions 
abound." Nobody except the author appeared to 
know what "pompions" were. Stephen George (a very 



FRED MYRON COLBY. 473 

good man, but one who could be a little rough when 
he made an effort), in reading these sketches, came to 
'the sentence quoted above, and halted. " What are 
iwmpions f he presently said to his family. " I 've 
been in town twenty years, and I 've never seen a 
pompion yet : bring me the dictionary." The diction- 
ary was brought, but there was not much in it (per- 
haps it was Walker's first edition). The mysterious 
word was not there. George sprang from his, chair, 
seized his hat, and started for the doctor, who lived 
a mile away. It was now ten o'clock in the evening. 
Arriving at the doctor's house, he rapped sharp and 
loud on the front door, waited a minute, and gave 
another succession of startling raps, reminding one of 
Ethan Allen. The doctor, supposing there w^as an 
urgent demand for his professional services, sprang 
from his bed, pulled a garment or two partly on, and 
made for the door, on opening which he was saluted 
by his well known townsman thus : " What in li — 
are pompions f" 

Fred Myron Colby was born in Warner, Dec. 9. 
1849. His early education was obtained at the schools 
of his native town and at Concord. He is not college- 
learned, but self-learned. He has a knowledge of two 
languages besides his own, and a wide and varied 
reading, being able to quote from the old poets and 
chroniclers for days. His early life was passed on a 
farm, and subsequently he was a school teacher. He 



474 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

began to write for the press in 1872, when a novel 
of his was published by R M. DeWitt, of New York. 
This successful venture was followed by other attempts ' 
in the same channel. Two of his novels, "The Pio- 
neers of Kentucky," and " Rolf the Cavalier," sold to 
the extent of 60,000 copies. 

Besides these, Mr. Colby has written several serials 
for the Fireside Companion, and other story papers. 
He has been a frequent contributor to Potie7''s 3faga- 
zine and the National Repository ; and articles of his 
have appeared in the Home Guest, Cultivator, Cottage 
Hearth, Washington Chronicle, New York Hvening Post, 
and other well known publications. The press of 
New Hampshire has also been a repository of many 
of his sketches. The winter of 1875 he spent in 
Washington, D. C. as the correspondent of Boston 
and New Hampshire papers. 

Mr. Colby is at present engaged upon a work to be 
entitled " The Historic Homes of New Hampshire," 
for which he has been gathering material during the 
past year. Though his highest aim is to be a student 
rather than an author, he must certainly be ranked 
as one of our most talented young writers, and one 
destined to make his mark in the annals of letters. 

Such approved writers as John A. Harris, William 
K. Bartktt, and Albert P. Davis should not be over- 
looked. Nor should Miss Mary Rogers be forgotten, 
who, though not known to fame, charmed many 



PEACE FOREVERMORE. 475 

hearts and lifted the cloud from many a brow by her 
sweet and soothing poetic effusions. 

Miss Hannah F. MoiiHll, daughter of John Morrill, 
of Burnt Hill, under the signature of " Mrs. H. F. M. 
Brown," wrote much and vigorously, some twenty-five 
or thirty years ago, for the papers of Ohio, in which 
state she lived. 

Miss Amanda B. Harris is a constant contributor 
to the Literary Worlds The Congregationalist, and the 
New York Evening Post, the high character of which 
publications is well known. She has written, also, for 
Appleton's Journal, and for various other periodicals. 

Miss Hannah Maria George, daughter of Oilman C. 
George, has a literary gift, and is a writer of good 
repute in her sphere. 

The individual who was conducting the Weekly 
Union at Manchester during the first stasres of the 
war, received from an anonymous hand and published 
the following beautiful poem. Let the author (what- 
ever his name) be enrolled among the literary char- 
acters of the town. 

Peace Forevermore. 
When shall the sound of cannon's roar, and rattle 

Of shot and shell, that fall like rain, 
No more be heard, and the smoke of battle 

Be seen no more upon the plain ? 

When will the moon rise calmly o'er the field of glory, 

The stars their pure, soft radiance shed 
O'er blood-stained soil, where lie, in vestments gory, 

The wounded ones, — the dying, and the dead ? 
31 



476 HISTOEY OF WARNER. 

When will the stars and stripes, — Flag of 'the Free, — 
Now trailing in the dust of civil war and crime, 

Be reared again vipon the staff of Liberty, 

To float triumphant through every age of time ? 

O'er our fair land, " in majesty stalks Sorrow ;" 

Pale, ghastly Death rides on before ; 
And millions cry, Oh ! when will dawn the morrow 
Of Unity and Peace forevermore ? 

L. W. C. 
Warner, June 25, 1861. 




OHAPTEE XXXII. 

MILITARY HISTORY OF WARNER THE REVOLUTION — ALARM 

AT COOS WAR WITH FRANCE THREATENED — WAR OF 1812 

THE REBELLION STATE MILITIA. 

ARNER was not settled till after the French 
wars. ended, but she had a small population 
when the Revolution broke upon the country, and the 
patriotism she displayed was not inferior to that ot 
other towns. Warner men were at Bunker Hill with 
Stark, and at Bennington under the same commander. 
They were at Saratoga and West Point. They were 
in Rhode Island and in Canada. They were at Mon- 
mouth and Morristown. In fact, they were in most 
of the battles of the Revolution east of the Susque- 
hanna. Some of those men returned ; others were 
killed ; and still others were reported " missing." 

Kot among the suffering wonnded ; 

Not among the peaceful dead ; 
Not among the prisoners. Missing — 

That was all the message said. 

Ten Warner men, on the alarm at Lexington, in 
April, 1775, seized such arms as they had, and hast- 
ened to the scene of action. This was fourteen 
months prior to the Declaration of Independence. 



478 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Before their arrival at Cambridge the British had 
been driven back in disorder and defeat. It was not 
certain when thej would attempt another advance 
from Boston. It was not certain that they ever would. 
All America was aroused, and a volunteer army of 
thirty thousand men had assembled m and about 
Cambridge a few days after the " Concord fight." 
Twenty thousand of these (most of whom were poorly 
prepared for the service) were sent home by the 
American generals. Probably most, perhaps all, of 
these ten Warner men returned to their homes. As 
they were not organized into any regiment or com- 
pany, their names are borne upon no roll. The state 

allowed Warner for this service as follows : 

£ s. 
Lexington, ten men — 1775 — 22 10 

This was about $7.50 to a man; from which it ap- 
pears that the service must have been of short dura- 
tion. The presumption is, however, that a part or all 
of these men subsequently entered the service at the 
call of the country for soldiers. On the ITth day of 
the June following " the alarm at Lexington," War- 
ner was well represented at Bunker Hill, as was New 
Hampshire generally. It is proper to state here that 
the American army consisted of about 1500 men in 
that battle, and that one thousand of these were New 
Hampshire soldiers ! 



WARNER PATRIOTS. 479 



THE ROLL. 

The following is a list, as accurate as it can be 
made, of Warner men who served at different times, 
and for different periods, in the Revolutionary army. 

Hubbard Carter, lived on Tory Hill; promoted to be ensign. 
See a preceding page. 

Amos Flood : at Bunker Hill, in Marcy's company, Eeid's regi- 
ment ; lost a gun in battle ; state allowed him for it 1£ 
8s. ; was the father of the late Daniel Flood, house-car- 
penter, and of Amos, Jr. 

Philip Rowell, the ancestor of George. S. and Charles P. Rowell. 

Aquila Davis. See preceding pages. 

Isaac Waldron, lived on Gould road. 

William Britton, never returned. 

John Plumer, enlisted at Henniker, under Capt. Blood. 

William Lowell. 

Isaac Lowell, in Capt. Ebenezer Webster's company. 

Barnard Lowell, a sea-captain after the Revolution ; died at sea. 

Elliot Colby, served in Col. Stickney's regiment. See a pre- 
ceding page. 

Stephen Colby, son of Elliot. See a preceding page. 

Ephraim Hoyt, brother to Jacob, the first hotel-keeper. 

Nathan Martin, served one year. 

Simeon Ward, " " ' " 

Ebenezer Eastman. See a preceding page. 

James Palmer. 

John Palmer. 

Israel Rand. 

Richard Bartlett. See a preceding page. 

Joseph Bartlett. " " 

Jonathan Roby, at Bunker Hill. 

Francis Davis, at Bunker Hill ; son of Capt. Francis. After 
the war, removed to Vermont, and died there. 

Wells Davis, another son of Capt. Francis ; at Bunker Hill ; lived 
at North village. 

Ichabod Twilight, a colored man ; never returned. 

Paskey Pressey. See a preceding page. 

David Gilmore. " " " 

Daniel Young. " " " 

Robert Gould. " " " 

Abner Watkins. " " " 

Reuben Kimball. " " " 



480 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Isaac Walker. See a preceding page. 

Ezokiel Goodwin. " 

Nathaniel Trumbull. " " 

Jacob Tucker. " " '' 

Abner Chase. " " " 

Isaac Dalton. " " " 

James Pressey, a son of Paskey. 

Stephen Richardson, enlisted at the age of 18. 

John Davis, lived across the narrow road from the old Deacon 

Bailey school-house ; was the father of John, William, and 

Amos. 
Josejih Burke, lived where Isaac C. Flanders now resides, at the 

Lower Village; was in the War of 1812, also in state 

militia. 

To this list may be added the names of a number 
of Eevolutionaiy patriots who entered the service 
from other places, but who settled in Warner shortly 
after the war, and ended their days here. 

Asa Putney was one of these. He went into the 
service from Hopkinton ; had an arm shattered by a 
musket-ball at Bennington ; settled in school district 
No. 8. The following record appears in the archives 
of the state : 

Paid Sergeant Asa Putney, of Gen. Stark's Brigade, wounded 
at Bennington Aug. 16, 1777, for his half pay from Sept, 24, 
1777, to Sept. 24, 1779, 24 months, at 30s., £36. 

Joseph Burnap served in the army ; after the war 
he settled in Warner, in school district No. 8, as now 
numbered. He came from Reading, Mass. The farm 
on which he was reared was light and sandy, and he 
determined, on changing his residence, to shun '" mul- 
len-stalk " land. He ran into the other extreme, and 
settled on a very hard, rocky soil. But he was indus- 



ALAEM AT COOS. 481 

trious, frugal, and satisfied. He had two sons and two 
daughters, all of whom have passed on, except the 
widow of David E. Harriman. She still survives, 
though rising 80 years of age. 

Charles Barnard, another Revolutionary soldier, 
came after the war, and settled on Burnt Hill. See 
another page. 

William H. Ballard was a lieutenant in the Kevolution. 
Joseph B. Hoyt. See another page. 
Stephen Badger. See another page. 
Anthonjr Clark was a waiter to Gen. Washington, 
Dr. John Hall served several 3^ears ; was at the battle of Bunker 
Hill. 

ALARM AT COOS. 

There was no Coos county in the days of the Rev- 
olution, and " Coos " meant the northern part of the 
state, above Hanover and Plymouth. Serious alarm 
was excited there in October, 1780, by the irruption 
into the eastern part of Vermont of a large body of 
Canadian Indians, led by one Horton, a British officer. 
With savage fary they plundered and burnt the town 
of Royalton, Vt., and killed and captured as many of 
the people as fell in their way. New Hampshire 
raised a volunteer force to hasten to the threatened 
locality, and AVarner furnished fifteen men for the ex- 
pedition. The invading army took the alarm, and 
beat a hasty retreat. 

Most of the men of Warner who were subject to 
military duty had gone into the army before this 



482 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

alarm at Coos occurred, and the fifteen who sprang to 
arms to repel the threatened incursion were mostly old 
men and boys under age. They were never organized 
into any company, and hence no rolls of these men 
are in existence. The state allowed them £12 17s., 
or $2.66 each. Their service was short, consisting of 
a march of fifteen miles out and back. The name of 
one of these patriots has come down to us by tradi- 
tion. This is Jacob Hoyt, inn-keeper, and dealer in 
ashes, at the Carter place. The alarm came in the 
forenoon of the day, and the men gathered up such 
equipments as they could find, and hurried off before 
noon.' Hoyt hadn't a spear of hair on his head, but 
he had a great shaggy wig, which he wore on select 
occasions. He hunted up an old knapsack, into which 
he threw his wig, a half loaf of bread, and a pound or 
two of cheese. They marched up over " Kimball's 
Hill," in Sutton, reached the " Hominy Pot," in New 
London, that night, and went into camp. They made 
their suppers of such as they had, and went to sleep. 
They awoke in the morning and took breakfost. Our 
hero then pulled the wig out of the bottom of the 
knapsack, and, brushing the crumbs of bread and 
cheese out of the hair, adjusted it to his bald head, 
and complacently remarked. — " I '11 let the British 
know if they kill mc, they '11 kill somebody." 

But the sacrifice was not demanded. The men had 
gone but a mile in the morning, when they were met 



WAR OF 1812. 483 

by a horseman, who came with orders for them to 
return to their homes. 

WAE WITH FRANCE THREATENED. 

In 1799 war between the United States and France 
was threatened, and, as a precautionary measure, the 
authorities filled up the ranks of the American army. 
Enlistments were brisk for a time, and a small num- 
ber of Warner men entered the service. 

Jacob Davis, a son of Wells, and grandson of Fran- 
cis, was one of these. He was stationed, a number of 
years, at one of the forts in Boston harbor. He was 
afterwards a captain in the state militia. He had two 
sons, — Dr. Daniel and Heniy, — and one daughter, the 
wife of Daniel Bean, Jr. He died at Waterloo, a few 
years since, at a great age. 

Winthrop D. Ager was another of these soldiers. 
He was in the service twenty years ; was a sergeant- 
major at the battle of Tippecanoe. He died at East- 
port, Me., in 1821. 

Ammi Peabody, a son of Jedediah, was another, 
and Israel Collins another. There may have been 
others still, whose names cannot be ascertained. 

WAR OF 1812. 

ROLL OF CAPT. JOSEPH SMITh's COMPANY. 

Joseph Smith, captain, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for one year. 
Daniel George, 1st lieut., " " 

James Bean, 2d lieut., " " 

Ricliard Pattee, ensign, " " 



484 HISTORY OF. WARNER. 

Ste])hen George, sergeant, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for one year. 
Philip Osgood, " ' " " 

David Straw, " " " 

Daniel Flood, « " " 

Benjamin Evans, corporal, " " 

Daniel Bean, " " " 

•John Barnard, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for one year. Promoted to 

corporal April 1, 1813. 
Ezekiel Eoby, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for one year. Promoted to 

corporal May 1, 1813. 
Samuel Roby, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for one ^^ear. Promoted to 

corporal May 12, 1813. 
Jeremiah Silver, musician, enlisted Feb, 1, 1813, for one year. 

Absent sick. 
William Barnard Walker, musician, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for 

one year. 

J'rivates. 

David Baglev, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for one year. 

Robert Bailey, " " 

Timothy B. Chase, " " 

Timothy Chandler, " " 

Moses F. Colby, " " 

Charles Colby, " " 

Phineas Danforth, " " 

Zadoc Dow, " " 

John Davis, • " " 

Jesse Davis, " " 

Joshua Elliot, " " 

Stephen G. Eaton, " " 

Moses C. Eaton, " " 

Enoch French, « " 

Amos Flood, " " 

Mariner Flood, " " 

Thomas W. Freelove, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for one year. Desert- 
ed April 3, 1813. 

David Hardy, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for one year. 

James Hastings, " " 

Richard Hunt, '" " 

Isaiah Hoyt, " " 

David E. Harriman, " « 

Ezra Jewell, . " " 

Winthrop M. Lowell, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for one year. Absent 
sick. 

William Little, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for one year. 

James Little, " " 



WAR OF 1812. 485 

Joseph Maxfield, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for one year. 

John Morrill, " '' 

Nehemiah Osgood, Feb. 1, 1813, for one year. Promoted April 

3, 1813, to fife-major. 
Eben Stevens, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for one year. 
Eoyal W. Stanley, " " 

Samuel G. Titcomb, " " 

Abraham Waldron, " " 

Plumer Wheeler, " " 

Samuel Wheeler, " " 

James Wheeler, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for one year. Died May 

3, 1813. 
Ebenezer Woodbiiry, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for one year. Died 

April 10, 1813. 
Humphrey Bursiel, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for one year. 
John Smith, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for one year. Deserted April 

12, 1813. 
Ambrose C. Sargent, enlisted Feb. 1, 1813, for one year. 
Jonathan Stevens, " " 

CAPT. JONATHAN BKAn's COMPANY. 

Capt. Bean was of Salisbury. Warner had fifteen men in 
his command. 

Nicholas Evans, sergeant, enlisted Sept. 11, 1814, for ninety days. 

Joel B. Wheeler, corporal, " "' 

Isaiah S. Colby, private, " " 

Mariner Eastman, " " 

Joseph Goodwin, " " 

Seth Goodwin, " " 

John Goodwin, " " 

Natbaniel Hunt, " " 

David H. Kelley, " " 

James G. Ring, . " « 

James H. Stevens, " " 

Stephen Sargent, " " 

Thomas Thurber, " " 
Abner S. Colby, enlisted Sept. 11, 1814, for ninety days. Died 

Oct. 31, 1814. 

Jacob Harvey, enlisted Sept. 11, 1814, for ninety days. Died 

Oct. 31, 1814. 

IN CAPT. SILAS call's COMPANY. 

Reuben Clough, ensign, enlisted Oct. 2, 1814, for forty days. 
Marden Seavey, sergeant, '•' " 



486 " HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Simeon Bartlett, private, enlisted Oct. 2, 1814, for 40 days. 
Jacob Colby, '' " " 

John Hall, " " " 

Christopher Sargent, musician, " " 

IX CAPT. JOSIAH BELLOWS'S COMPANY. 

David Harvey, private, enlisted Sept. 26, 1814, for sixty days. 
Samuel Page^, " " " 

Benj. Spalding, " " " 

Daniel Wheeler, " " " 

Six other Warner men served in four or five dif- 
ferent companies. The following are their names : 

Daniel Pillsbury, corporal, Kathaniel Jones, private, 

Obadiah Whittalcer, corporal, Benj. C. Waldron, private, 
Dudley Trumbull, private, Joseph Burke, private. 

THE REBELLION. 

New Hampshire raised 84,500 men for the War 
of the Rebellion. She raised seventeen regiments of 
infantry, a force of cavalry, of heavy artillerj^, and of 
sharpshooters. Warner had men in many of these 
organizations. The whole number furnished by the 
town was 200. 

Citizens of Warner, 124 

liecruited abroad, 76 



200 



FIRST REGIMEXT (tHREE MONTHS). 

J. Frank Osgood, mustered May 2, '61 ; discharged Aug. 9, '61. 

Otis S. Osgood, " " 

Daniel Stevens, " " 

Henry Wiggin, " " 

Henry E. Badger, " " 

Jubal Eaton, " " 

John B. Rand, " " 



THE EEBELLION. 487 



SECOND REGIMENT (tHREE YEARS). 

Harrison Robertson, mustered Jnne 3, 1861 ; discharged for dis- 
ability, Aug. 2, 1861. 

Abner F. Harvey, mustered June 1, 1861 ; died of disease Feb. 
13, 1863. 

Leonard E. Barnard, mustered May 17, 1864. 

FIFTH REGIMENT. 

James H. Ferrin, mustered Oct. 12, 1861 ; promoted to sergeant ; 
transferred to invalid corps April 15, 1864. 

SEVENTH REGIMENT. 

James M. Osgood, mustered Aug. 15, 1862 ; discharged for dis- 
ability, April 15, 1864. 
George Waldron, mustered Dec. 7, 1863. 

ELEVENTH REGIMENT. 

Walter Harriman, Colonel, commissioned Aug. 26, 1862 ; presi- 
dent of Division Court-martial in April and May, 1863 ; 
resigned at Milldale, Miss., July 1, 1863 ; recommissioned 
as colonel Aug. 15, 1863 ; in command of brigade at vari- 
ous times ; taken prisoner at the battle of the Wilderness, 
May 6, 1864 ; held at Macon, Ga., and at Charleston, S! 
C. ; under fire of our own guns at the latter place 53 days 
and nights ; exchanged Aug. 4, 1864 ; returned to regi- 
ment before Lee's army ; entered Petersburg, April 3, 
1865, in command of a brigade of nine regiments ; ap- 
pointed Brigadier-General by Brevet, "for gallant conduct 
during the war, to date from March 13, 1865;" mustered 
out, June 4, 1865. 

Company D. 

Leander W. Cogswell, Captain (a Henniker man, but closely 
identified with company D, and with the 11th regiment), 
commissioned Sept. 4, 1862 ; in command of" the regiment 
at London, Ky., September, 1863 ; continued in command 
through the " Siege of Knoxville," and till January 15th ; 
detailed May 22, 1861, as Asst. Ins. Gen. on the staff of 
Gen. S. G. Griffin ; detailed Dec. 1, on court-martial ser- 
vice ; commissioned lieut. colonel of the regiment Aug. 20, 
1864 ; honorably discharged at close of war. 



488 HISTORY OF AVARNER. 

Charles Davis, Jr., first sergeant, mustered Sept. 2, 1862 ; pro- 
moted to second lieutenant, and then to first ; appointed 
captain Sept. 20, 1864, but not mustered for lack of men 
in the company; wounded Sept. 30, 1804; honorably dis- 
char^jed as first lieutenant, Jan. 20, 1865. 

David C. Harriman, second lieutenant, commissioned Sept. 4, 
1862 ; promoted to first lieutenant Feb. 27, 1863 ; resigned 
at Milldale, Miss., July 1, 1863; appointed first lieutenant 
in the 18th regiment Oct. 6, 1864 ; mustered out June 10, 
1865. See 18th reg. 

Henry L. Colby, quartermaster-sergeant ; appointed Aug. 2, 1862 ; 
mustered out June 4, 1865. 

George T. Edmunds, sergeant, mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; promoted 
to first sergeant ; wounded Jul}' 30, 1864 ; discharged for 
disability May 15, 1865. 

George E. Davis, sergeant ; mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; wounded 
July 12, 1863 ; discharged for disability Nov. 10, 1863. 

Charles C Jones, corporal ; mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; wounded 
Dec. 13, 1862 ; discharged for disability May 7, 1863. 

William Stevens, corporal ; mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; promoted 
to sergeant ; wounded severely July 30, 1864 ; discharged 
for disability June 6, 1865. 

Lewis Childs, corporal; mustered Aug. 29, 1862; wounded se- 
verely July 30, 1864; mustered out May 12, 1865. 

Nathaniel Bean, corporal ; mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; discharged 
for disability, at Washington, D. C, Jan. 16, 1863; died 
soon after his discharge. 

George H. Colby, musician ; mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; died of 
disease at Covington, Ky., Aug. 15, 1863. 

Frank P. Ager, mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; mustered out June 4, 
1865. 

John F. Badger, must. Aug. 29, 1862 ; must, out June 4, 1865. 

Frederick E. Badger, must. Aug. 29. 1862 ; died of disease at 
Washington, D. C, Jan. 8, 1863. 

Imri Ball, must. Aug. 29, 1862; must, out June 4, 1865. 

Hazen Bartlett, must. Aug. 29, 1862 ; wounded and captured at 
the battle of the Mine, July 30, 1864 ; died in the hands 
of the enemy, at Petersburg, Va., Sept. 5, 1864. 

David S. Burbank, must Aug. 29, 1862 ; promoted to corporal ; 
must, out June 4, 1865. 

AVilliam S. Carter, mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; promoted to com- 
missary-sergeant Sept. 2, 1862; must, out June 4, 1865. 

Plummer E. Carter, mustered Aug. 29, 1862. 

Edgar 0. Couch, must. Aug. 29, 1862 ; wounded slightly twice ; 
captured July 30, 1864, at the Mine ; died of disease at 
Danville, Va., Feb. 1. 1865. 
Philip Colby, must. Aug. 29, 1862 ; died of disease Feb. 28, 1863. 



THE REBELLION. 489 

Er Collins, mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; discharged for disability at 

Hampton, Va., Aug. 1, 18G3. 
William M. Corser, must. Aug. 29, 1862; m. out June 4, 1865. 
Charles S. Davis, must. Aug. 29, 1862 ; wounded slightly May 

12, 1864 ; promoted to corporal ; wounded Sept. 30, 1864; 

promoted to sergeant March 1, 1865 ; m. out June 4, 1865. 
Timothy B. Eastman, must. Aug. 29, 1862 ; m. out June 4, 1865. 
Henry L. French, must. Aug. 29, 1862 ; discharged for disability 

at Newport News, Va., March 13, 1863 ; reiinlisted into 

Heavy Artillery. 
Thomas B. Flanders, mustered Aug. 29, 1862. 
Jubal Eaton, mustered Aug. 29, 1862. 
Frank B. Flanders, mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; wounded severely 

June 18, 1864 ; mustered out June 4, 1865. 
Charles E. Hardy, mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; m. out June 4, 1865. 
Joseph B. Hoyt, must. Aug. 29, 1862 ; died of disease at Aquia 

Creek, Va., Feb. 5, 1863. 
Warren F. Hackett, m. Aug. 29, 1862 ; m. out June 4, 1865. 
James M. Jewell, must. Aug. 29, 1862 ; discharged for disability 

at Washington, D. C, March 19, 1863. 
George T. Ordway, must. Aug. 29, 1862 ; wounded slightly May 

12, 1864 ; m. out June 4, 1865. 

Henry Osgood, mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; promoted to sergeant ; 

m. out June 4, 1865. 
Imri Osgood, mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; wounded severely Dec. 

13, 1862 ; discharged at Washington, D. C, on account of 
wounds. May 3, 1864. 

Henry E. Page, mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; m. out June 4, 1865. 

Plummer B. Page, mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; wounded severely 
May 6, 1864; m. out June 4, 1865. 

George Boby, mustered Aug. 29, 1S62; transferred to Veteran 
Reserve Corps, Nov. 15, 1863 ; m. out Aug. 5, 1865. 

Joseph S. Rogers, mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; m. out June 4, 1865. 

Trask W. Royleigh, mustered Aug. 29, 1862. 

Don E. Scott, mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; m. out June 4, 1865. 

Cyrus P. Savory, mustered Aug. 29, 1862; m. out June 4, 1865. 

Addison Scoby, mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; discharged for disabil- 
ity Dec. 27, 1863. 

Frank Stevens, mustered Aug. 29, 1862; promoted to corporal; 
mustered out June 4, 1865. 

Arthur Thompson, mustered Aug. 29, 1862 ; m. out June 4, 1865. 

SIXTEENTH REGIMENT (nINE MONTHS). 

Samuel Davis, Jr., major, commissioned Nov. 1, 1862 ; m. out 

Aug. 20, 1863. 
Philip C. Bean, second lieutenant, commissioned Nov. 4, 1862 ; 

mustered out Aug. 20, 1863. 



490 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Reuben B. Porter, second lieutenant, commissioned January 19, 

18G3; mustered out August 20, 1863. 
Moses C. Harriman, sergeant, mustered Oct. 23, 1862 ; m. out 

Aug. 20, 1863. 
James Bean, Jr., corporal, mustered Ocl. 2-3, 1862 ; must, out 

Aug. 20, 1863. 
Gilman M. Blake, corporal, mustered Oct. 23, 1862 ; died at New 

Orleans, June 17, 1863. 
George H. Melvin, corporal, mustered Oct. 23, 1862 ; promoted to 

sergeant ; m. out Aug. 20, 1863. 
Edwin B. Hardy, musician, mustered Oct. 23, 1862 ; mustered 

out Aug. 20, 1863. 
Zenas A. Bartlett, mustered Oct. 23, 1862 ; m. out Aug. 20, 1863. 
Charles D. Cheney, " " " " " 

Daniel Cheney, mustered Oct: 23, 1862 ; discharged for disability 

June 27, 1863. 
Alphonso Colby, mustered Oct. 23, 1863 ; died at Brashear City, 

May 11, 1863. 
Charles G. Davis, mustered Oct. 23, 1862; m. out Aug. 20, 1863. 
Charles H. Flanders, mustered Oct. 23, 1862 ; died at Cairo, 111., 

Aug. 9, 1863. 
Blanchard A. Hardy, must. Oct. 23, 1862 ; m. out Aug. 20, 1863. 
Justus C. Harriman, must. Oct. 23, 1862; died at Baton Eouge, 

La., May 4. 1863. 
John M. Hemphill, must. Oct. 23. 1862 ; died at New Orleans, 

April 30, 1863. 
John M. Johnson, mustered Oct. 23, 1862 ; m. out Aug. 20, 1863. 
Henry L. Johnson, " " " " " 

George P. Jones, '• " " " " 

Charles H. Melvin, " " ■' " " 

William H. Ordway, must. Nov. 12, 1862 ; m. out Aug. 20, 1863. 
Horace Osgood, mustered Oct. 23, 1862 ; promoted to corjioral ; 

m. out Aug. 20, 1863. 
John Pearson, mustered Oct. 23, 1862 ; died at Baton Eouge, La., 

June 27, 1863. 
Hamilton P. Sargent, mustered Oct. 23, 1862 ; died at Brashear 

City, June 10,1863. 
Moses D. Sargent, mustered Oct. 23, 1862. 

Leonard E. Sargent, must. Oct. 23, 1862; m. out Aug. 20, 1863. 
David F. Sargent, mustered Oct. 23, 1862 ; died at Port Hudson, 

La., July 16, 1863. 
Daniel B. Webster, mustered Nov. 4, 1862 ; died at Brashear 

City, La., April 27, 1863. 
Clarence L. Wilkins, mustered Oct. 23, 1862 ; promoted to hospi- 
tal steward ; m. out Aug. 20, 1863. 
Wells H. Davis, enlisted at Newport ; mustered Oct. 23, 1862 ; 

died at Cairo, 111., August, 1863. 



THE REBELLION. 



491 



EIGHTEENTH REGIMENT (nINE MONTHS). 



David C. Harriman, first lieutenant, commissioned Oct. 6, 1864; 

must, out June 10, 1865. [See 11th Regiment.] 
Elbridge Eaton, corporal, must. Sept. 14, 1864 ; must, out June 

10, 1865. 
Alfred H. Davis, Jr., must. Sept. 13, 1864; must, out July 29, 

1865. 
Geo. J. Flanders, must. Sept. 17, 1864 ; must, out June 10, 1865. 
Walter M. Flanders, must. Sept. 17, 1864; must, out May 30, 

1865. 
Frank P. Harriman, must. Sept. 17, 1864 ; must out July 29, 

1865. 
Leonidas Harriman, must. Sept. 17, 1864 ; promoted to corporal ; 

must, out June 10, 1865. 
Leonard Stewart, must. Sept. 17, 1864 ; must, out June 10, 1865. 

N. H. BATTALION, FIRST N. E. CAVALRY. 

Henry F. Hunt, must. Dec. 19, 1861 ; discharged for disability, 

Nov. 12, 1863. 
John Hunt, must. Jan. 5, 1864; must, out July 15, 1865. 

FIRST REGIMENT N. H. VOLUNTEER CAVALRY. 

Perry H. Cheney, must. Aug. 9, 1864 ; discharged for disability, 
July 19, 1865. 

Charles G. Davis, must. Aug. 9, 1864 ; must, out July 15, 1865. 
[See 16th Regiment.] 

George P. Davis, must. Aug. 9, 1864 ; must, out Julj^ 15, 1865. 

Sylvanus Harriman, must. Aug. 15, 1864; promoted to corporal; 
discharged for disability, July 17, 1865. 

Reuben M. Gregg, must. Dec. 7, 1863 ; promoted to corporal ; 
must, out July 15, 1865. 

Charles C. Flanders, must. Aug. 15, 1864 ; discharged for disa- 
bility, July 10, 1865. 

FIRST REGIMENT HEAVY ARTILLERY. 

Joseph E. Lawrence, must. Sept. 5, 1864 ; m. out Sept. 11, 1865. 
William Herbert Sawyer, must. Sept. 13, 1864 ; must, out June 

15, 1865. 
Henry L. French, must. Dec. 17, 1863; must, out May 30, 1865. 

[See 11th Regiment.] 

FIRST REGIMENT U. S. SHARP-SHOOTERS. 

William G. Andrews, sergeant, mustered Sept. 9, 1861 ; promoted 
to first lieutenant, Dec. 20, 1861 ; promoted to captain, 
Oct. 1, 1863; wounded August 16, 1864; mustered out at 
end of three years, Sept. 8, 1864. 

32 



492 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Austin Andrews, mustered Sept. 9, 1861 ; promoted to sergeant ; 
must, out Sept. 8, 1864. 

Walter H. Bean, mustered Sept. 9, 1861 ; promoted to corporal ; 
wounded severely at Yorktown, Va., April 13, 1862 ; dis- 
charged for disability at Washington, D. C, Sept. 15, 1862. 

Frank Bean, mustered Sept. 9, 1861. 

Henry E. Badger, mustered Sept. 9, 1861 ; wounded August 30, 
1862 ; must, out Sept. 8, 1864. [See First Regiment.] 

Reuben K. Emerson, mustered Sept. 9, 1861 ; died at Gaines's 
Hill, Va., June 3, 1862. 

John B. Rand, mustered Sept. 9, 1861 ; wounded July 2, 1863 ; 
transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, April 1, 1864. [See 
First Regiment.] 

Harrison Robertson, must. Sept. 9, 1861 ; wounded July 3, 1863 ; 
must, out Sept. 8, 1864. [See 2d Regiment.] 

Harlan S. Willis, must. Sept. 9, 1861 ; discharged for disability, 
at Washington, D. C, Nov. 25, 1861. 

William D. Chase, must. Sept. 9, 1861 ; must, out Sept. 8, 1864. 

Charles A. Watkins, must. Sept. 9, 1861. 



Jerome B. Porter, served in the 2d Reg't U. S. Sharpshooters ; 
must. Dec. 12, 1861 ; discharged for disability. May 9, 1862. 

James A. Wadleigh was a member of Co. F, 11th N. H. Reg't; 
must. Aug. 29, 1862, as of Sutton ; wounded December 13, 
1862; transferred to Veteran Reserve Corjjs, Oct. 1, 1863, 
as of Warner^' must, out at close of the war. 

Alfred Kelley, served in the 5th Wisconsin Regiment of infantry; 
lost an arm December 13, 1862 ; discharged for disability, 
Sept. 15, 1863. 

Augustus Melvin, enlisted in Massachusetts into Fletcher Web- 
ster's regiment ; was transferred to the regular army, and 
served through the war. 

Enrolling officers were appointed throughout the 
country during the war, whose duty it was to make 
and keep accurate lists of the men who had gone into 
the service, and also of those who were subject to mil- 
itary duty, so that when calls were made for men the 
proper number could be allotted to each town. Capt. 
Timothy Flanders was the enrolling officer for War- 
ner. 



STATE MILITIA. 493 

An immense debt and the necessity for heavy tax- 
ation grew out of the war, and internal revenue laws 
were enacted to meet in part the exigency. Benja- 
min F. Harriman was assistant assessor of internal 
revenue under those laws for several years after the 
war, his district being Warner and several of the adja- 
cent towns. 

STATE MILITIA. 

The rolls of the state militia are meagre and imper- 
fect. The following list of general and field officers 
which Warner has furnished, is given mainly from 
recollection. 

Aquila Davis, Brigadier-General. 

Richard Straw, Colonel. 
Simeon Bartlett, " 
Isaac Dalton, Jr., " 
James M. Harriman, " 
John C. Ela, " 

Hiram Dimond, Lieutenant-Colonel. 

Timothy D. Robertson, 

William G. Flanders, 

John A. Hardy, 

Calvin A. Davis, 

Bartlett Hardy, 

Daniel Runels, Major. 
Joseph B. Hoyt, " 
William H. Ballard, " 
Joseph Burke, " 

Daniel George, " 

Joseph S. Hoyt, " 
Eliezer Emerson, " 
Stephen K. Hoyt, " 



494 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

John C. Ela, a son of John and Amy (Campbell) 
Ela, was born at Derry, March 3, 1826. The other 
children of this couple are Betsey C, Abner C, and 
Emma Jane. 

The first Ela found in this country is Daniel. He 
was a tanner and taverner at Haverhill, Mass., as 
early as 1675. 

The mother of John C. was a Campbell, and Duncan 
Campbell, a bookseller, and a man of note in his day, 
is found in Boston as early as 1685. He was from 
Scotland. His children were, — William, born 1687 ; 
Archibald, 1689 ; Matthew, 1691 ; Susanna, 1696 ; 
and Agnes, 1699. 

Mr. John Ela came with his family from Derry to 
Warner, in 1844. He was a cloth-dresser and miller. 
He died September, 1867, aged 71. Mrs. Ela died 
December, 1876, aged 78. 

John C. Ela married Clara B. Manning, May 10, 
1851, who died June 19, 1852. He married for his 
second wife, February, 1858, Louisa J., daughter of 
Caleb Watson, of Salisbury, N. H. They have three 
children, — two daughters and a son. 

Mr. Ela is the proprietor of the saw-mill, the grist- 
mill, and the carding-mill at Warner village, where a 
large amount of business is annually done. To the 
grist-mill, people come with their grain from all the 
surrounding towns. 

In 1849 John C. Ela was the colonel of the fortieth 
regiment of New Hampshire militia. 





^ , ^sll^ 



STATE MILITIA. 495 

The first military trainings in Warner were at the 
Parade. Here, as early as 1773, and when the prov 
inces were subject to the Crown, Capt. Davis called 
together the " 22d company of Foot, in the 9th regi- 
ment of Militia." Here, for many years after, those 
liable to military duty were warned to appear " armed 
and equipped as the law directs." There were usually 
two trainings (one in May and one in September) 
each year. 

There have been regimental musters in Warner, on 
ground at the rear of George Savoiy's buildings, on 
Denney's hill, at Stephen Davis's, on the Plain, at the 
rear of Stanley's buildings, on what is now the fair 
ground, and on the Badger intervale. 

No entertainment ever quite equalled an old-fash- 
ioned muster, in the estimation of a patriotic youth. 
It furnished him his chief theme of thought and 
conversation for days and weeks before it occurred. 
Stalks were cut, reaping was done, and grain was 
threshed under the inspiration of the coming festival. 
At length the day arrives. The boys have had a poor 
night's rest, and even the head of the family has not 
slept as soundly as usual. An early start is made : 
many go on foot, while others ride, with three on 
the seat and one on the peck-measure in the hind 
end of the wagon. Presently daylight dawns ; all 
hands hurry up ; now the sun lifts his yellow disc 
above the line of hills ; now the muster-field is in 



496 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

full view. The troops, by the activity of the adju- 
tant, are in line. The Hopkinton Rifle Company, 
with their tall, black plumes, are stationed against 
a wood ; the Hopkinton Light Infantry, with white 
pantaloons and showy uniforms, are on the right; 
the Henniker Rifles, with light gray suits, grape but- 
tons, and white plumes, make a conspicuous figure. 
The Warner Artillery, with their old brass field-piece 
(a four-pounder), and their black broadcloth with red 
trimmings, together with their black plumes tipped 
with red, look warlike and substantial ; the Warner 
Light Infantry, handsomely uniformed with white 
pants, blue coats, and large white plumes having 
red tops, extort general admiration. Then the many 
infantry companies, whose officers are decked with 
showy regalia, and the cavalry with spirited horses 
and shrill bugle, on the extreme left, complete the 
" line of battle." 

The field officers are at their posts, on horseback, 
at the right, the centre, and the left, facing the troops, 
while the general and his staff, with their close-fitting 
buff pantaloons, long-topped boots, and waving feath- 
ers, are in camp at the rear. In due time they will 
be ready for the inspection, the review, and the ad- 
dress. 

Go now to the spectators, a motley throng. All 
seem to be "present or accounted for." The north 
has given up, and the south has kept not back. The 



STATE MILITIA. 497 

substantial yeomanry, the wealthy and the great (as 
men count greatness) are there, as well as the poor 
and humble. The cripples are all present ; the " black 
ducks" are vociferous and happy; the children are on 
hand ; and the old people are not without a witness. 
The din of the peddlers is unceasing ; the rattle of the 
tumblers is a familiar sound ; the singing of the song- 
sters attracts much attention. Old Prince, with his 
tight corduroy trowsers, is on the ground, with a 
sheet or two of gingerbread already under each arm 
(the contributions of favored bystanders), and his 
clear melodious voice is ringing out, — 

We thank the noble king of France, 
Both men and money he did advance ; 
We thank the noble king of Spain, 
The states of Holland shall shear the same. 

But the great event of the day is the sham-fight : 
that closes the military exercise. The regiment is 
divided into two wings as nearly equal as possible. 
These two armies take their positions ; the bands are 
playing ; the field-officers are hurrying in hot haste, 
their horses white with foam. These animals have 
been selected for their spirit and beauty. Carter's 
splendid gray steed, " The Fierce Eagle," is for many 
years a conspicuous figure at the parades of the 40th 
regiment. 

The reader is specially invited to go back to the 
muster of 1828, at Stephen Davis's, — the first ever 



498 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

held on that ground. Col. Simeon Bartlett is in com- 
mand ; the day is delightful, and the " Right Arm of 
National Defence" never appeared to better advan- 
tage than now, at an annual review in Warner. 

It is two o'clock in the afternoon ; the sham-fight 
has just commenced ; the sharp cracking of the mus- 
ketry back under the pines has begun, and the deep 
roar of the four-pounder jars the ground. A young 
man about twenty years of age, one who is a little 
ungainly in appearance, who tapers the wrong way, 
wearing a No. 5 hat and No. 14 boots, comes along, 
eating a seed-cucumber, and complacently remark- 
ing, " They jest begins to let 'er rip a little now !" 
You are right, my boy, and " the combat deepens." 
The rank smell of powder impregnates the air ; the 
horses nervously paw the turf; one throws his rider 
violently to the ground and plunges through the 
crowd ; he is caught at the great rock near the gate. 

Trees and underbrush have been cut and dried, 
from which a fort has been built, supplied with a deep 
straw bedding; a company occupies this redoubt, and 
pours an incessant fire upon the opposing line. The 
old artillery moves up in majestic style, Capt. Safford 
Watson cutting cabalistic figures in the air with his 
sword to denote the advance, the halt, and the fire. 
The gunners are discharging the piece with great 
rapidity, and from the fortification, as well as all 
along the line, a deafening roll of musketry is heard. 



STATE MILITIA. 499 

Above the roar and tumult, the clear voice of Capt. 
Watson rings out, " Charge the fort /" — and the bur- 
nished field-piece is instantly run up to within ten 
feet of the object of attack ; the hot blaze issues from 
its mouth, and the fort is instantaneously enveloped 
in smoke and flame. The company defending it has 
retreated. The cracklin2: flames and thick darkness 
make a scene for a painter. The cavalry, in marvelous 
quick time, with frantic horses, wheel into line at the 
rear of the artillery to cut off* their retreat ; the Hop- 
kinton Rifles charge upon their flank and capture the 
gun; but the Henniker Rifles (being allies of the 
artillery) advance on the double-quick to the defence 
of the latter ; the cannon is retaken, and the battle, — 
which has lono^ huno; in even scale, and which has 
been bravely fought, though not bloody in its re- 
sults, — comes to an end. 



CHAPTEE XXXIII. 

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OP WARNER. 

(HE history of the Congregational church for 
the first half century after the settlement of 
the town is substantially embodied in the preceding 
pages of this volume. It was so closely interwoven 
with the history of the town as to make it impossible 
to present the one without presenting the other also. 
The Congregational church was organized the 5th 
day of February, 1772, and Rev. Mr. Kelley, the first 
settled minister, was ordained that day. The churches 
which were represented on this occasion by ministers 
and delegates were those of Concord, Pembroke, Hen- 
niker, Salem, Hampstead, and Plaistow. The repre- 
sentatives of these churches, together with Mr. Kelley 
and several of his parishioners, met at the house of 
Isaac Waldron, Jr., on the Gould road, where they 
formed into a council, with Rev. Timothy Walker, of 
Concord, as moderator. They then and there pro- 
ceeded and organized the first church. The cove- 
nant was signed and assented to by William Kelley, 



/ 



ECCLESIASTICAL. 501 

Joseph Sawyer, Richard Goodwin, Nehemiah Heath, 
Francis Davis, Abner Chase, Moses Clark, and Parme- 
nas Watson. 

When the council had convened and organized, it 
was rumored that they could not go on, because there 
was not a sufficient number of persons giving evi- 
dence of piety to form a church. Isaac Waldron, 
senior, sent them word that rather than have them 
fail for want of numbers he would take hold and join 
the church himSelf. though he preferred to be ex- 
cused ! 

Having organized the church, the council pro- 
ceeded to the humble meeting-house at the Parade, 
wdiere the services of ordination were participated 
in by Rev. Mr. Walker, Rev. Jacob Emery of Pem- 
broke, Rev. Henry True of Hampstead, Rev. Abner 
Bayley of Salem, Rev. Giles Merrill of Plaistow, and 
Rev. Jacob Rice of Henniker. 

Rev. William Kelley w^as born at Newbury, Mass., 
in 1744. He graduated at Harvard in 1767, studied 
for the ministry with Rev. Henry True, of Hampstead, 
and married Lavinia Bayley, daughter of Rev. Abner 
Bayley, of Salem, N. H. 

Mr. Kelley was, in stature, rather below the medium 
size of men. In manner he was genial and pleasant. 
His theology was that of the moderate Calvinists. 
His sermons and prayers were short for the times in 
wdiich he lived. When the service was finished, Mr. 



502 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Kelley would come down from the pulpit, and pass 
along the middle aisle to the door, bowing right and 
left to all. The congregation would remain seated 
till he had passed out. Those were the days of cour- 
tesy and reverence. 

Mr. Kelley was never settled over any church but 
this, and he closed his regular services here in 1801, 
though he continued to preach more or less in town 
and in adjoining towns till his death. He died of 
apoplexy. May 18, 1813, aged 68, and his dust sleeps 
in the old cemetery, a few feet to the rear of the 
point where his pulpit stood, and where his eloquence 
was so faithfully poured forth. 

In Mr. Kelley's day, two of those who, for a time, 
led the singing, were Enoch Morrill and Jacob Os- 
good. There were but few singers. Among them 
were Miriam Stevens (wife of Jacob Osgood), Rachel 
Flood (wife of Enoch Osgood), and Mrs. John Hardy, 
of Tory Hill. At first there were no musical instru- 
ments, but a church meeting in 1797 voted "to admit 
the Bass Viol in Pubhck Worship." The town ap- 
proved of this step by voting, in March, 1800, "that 
the singers should be admitted to use Bass Viols and 
any other sacred instruments on the Sabbath in the 
meeting-house for the future." 

The church was not strong in numbers or in wealth. 
It was divided and weakened by the location of the 
meeting-house " under the ledge," and by other causes, 



ECCLESIASTICAL. 503 

and it ^Yas destitute of a settled minister for thirteen 
years after the withdrawal of Mr. Kelley. 

Rev. John Woods came next. He was settled June 
22, 1814. Mr. Woods was born at Fitzwilliam in 
1785. He graduated at Williams college in 1812, 
and made his first settlement in Warner. He lacked 
the agreeable manners of his predecessor, but was a 
man of much intellectual strength. One who knew 
him says, — " He was a man who threw up the sub- 
soil, and laid deep foundations." He was strictly Cal- 
vinistic in his doctrines. He was dismissed, on his 
own request, from the pastorate in Warner, June 17, 
1823; was pastor of the church in Newport from 
1824 to 1851; and after this he preached a short 
time at Fitzwilliam, where he died May 4, 1861, aged 
76 years. 

Rev. Jubilee Wellman was settled in September, 
1827 (the flock having been without a shepherd for 
four years). Mr. Wellman was born in Greenfield, 
Mass., in 1793 ; was settled first at Frenchport, Me., 
then at Warner, where he remained ten years, then 
at Westminster, Vt., and finally at Lowell, Vt., where 
he died in 1855, at the age of 62 years. During the 
ministry of Mr. Wellman in Warner, the church was 
united and strono;. 

Rev. Amos Blanchard was settled in 1837. He 
was born in Peacham, Vermont. After graduating 
at the Andover Theological Seminary in 1828 he 



504 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

went West, and edited a religious journal in Cincin- 
nati three years. He returned to Vermont and set- 
tled at Lyndon, then at Warner, — where he remained 
less than three years, — then at Meriden, N. H., where 
he continued twenty-five years. He died at Barnet, 
Vt., in 1869, aged 68. He was an able and worthy man. 

Rev. James W. Perkins was next in order. He 
was born at Mont Vernon, N. H. ; was educated as a 
physician, but was inducted into the ministry in 1834. 
He first settled at New Hampton, then at Warner, 
where he commenced his labors in 1840, and closed 
them in 1846. After leaving Warner, Mr. Perkins 
was at Alstead and at Deering, but since 1857 has 
been preaching in Wisconsin. 

Rev. Robert W. Fuller was installed over the church 
at Warner in June, 1846. He was born at Milford, 
N. H., in 1807 ; was settled first at Westmoreland, 
then at Acworth, then at Warner, where he remained 
about four years. After leaving Warner he preached 
at South Westmoreland and at Lempster. He was a 
man of talent, but of strong will and great indepen- 
dence. 

Rev. Harrison 0. Howland commenced supplying 
the pulpit in 1852. He was born at West Brookfield, 
Mass., in 1813. He settled first at Ashland, N. Y., 
then at Warner, where he remained five years, then 
at Chester, N. H., and finally at Girard, Pa, where he 
died in 1872, aged 58. 



ECCLESIASTICAL. 505 

Rev. Daniel Warren, a native of Rochester, Yt, 
was installed in 1857. His first settlement was at 
Waterburj, Yt., where he continued thirteen years, 
and till 1838. After that he preached at various 
places in the same state. He remained in Warner 
nearly six years, and substantially finished his labors 
here. He died at Lowell in his native state. 

Rev. Henry S. Huntington commenced supplying 
the pulpit in 1863, but sickness compelled him to 
withdraw from it for a period. His ordination took 
place in ]866, and he closed his labors with the 
church, October, 1872. Mr. Huntington was born at 
Norwich, Conn. He graduated at Yale college, and 
his first settlement was at Warner. He preached in 
Warner from eight to ten years. His next settle- 
ment was at Galesburg, Illinois, and his third at Gor- 
ham, Maine, where he now officiates. 

Rev. Matthew A. Gates (who came from Salem, N. 
H.) immediately followed Mr. Huntington as pastor of 
the church. He continued in this position till August, 
1876, a, period of nearly four years, and then removed 
to St. Johnsbury, Yt. 

Rev. George A. Beckwith, the present pastor, com- 
menced his services with the church July 1, 1878. 

The first six deacons of this church were Parmenas 
Watson, Nehemiah Heath, David Heath, Isaac Dalton, 
Reuben Kimball, and Ezra Barrett. 

The old meeting-house " near Joseph Currier's" 



506 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

was abandoned by the Congregational church as a 
place of worship in 1819, and a new house was 
erected near the Kelley stand. That house, in 1845, 
was removed to its present location at the village ; it 
was modernized, and its galleries were removed in 
1856 ; it was enlarged and improved in 18G8. In 
1866, a bell of deep and mellow tone was hung in 
the steeple. 

In 1872 the church had existed one hundred years, 
and on the 12th day of June of that year its centen- 
nial celebration took place. A large congregation of 
town's-people, former residents, and friends from far 
and near, came together to commemorate the event. 
The celebration partook largely of the character of a 
town celebration. Rev. Mr. Huntington gave an able 
and instructive historical address (or sermon) in the 
forenoon, after which an ample collation was served 
in the vestry. In the afternoon Stephen S. Bean was 
called to the chair, and various sentiments and re- 
sponses, interspersed with prayer and singing, occu- 
pied the next two hours. Rev. Dr. Bouton of Con- 
cord, Rev. Mr. Buxton of Webster, Rev. Mr. Terry of 
Plaistow, Rev. Mr. Bullard of Hampstead, and others, 
participated in these exercises. Mr. Huntington, in 
his published account of this day's doings, closes as 
follows : 

A sentiment referring to our country was responded to by Gov. 
Harriman. He glanced at the I'ilgrims, and then at the present, 
speaking of the results of ninety years of government, of our 



THE BAPTIST CHURCH. 507 

national grandeur, prosperity, and progress ; and at the close of 
his address " America" was sung by the congregation. 

A poem of much merit, written for the occasion by Alfred W. 
Sargent, a young member of the church, was read by him ; com- 
munications and letters were read by the chairman ; after which 
the Sacrament was administered by Rev. Mr. Bullard and Rev. 
Mr. Terry. 

In the evening there was a social reunion, at which man}- 
reminiscences were given ; other letters were read ; also, a poem, 
written by Mrs. L. K. Davis, a member of the church ; and re- 
marks were made by several persons from abroad, among whom 
were Hon. Stephen C. Badger and Rev. Daniel Sawyer, formerh^ 
of Warner. 

THE BAPTIST CHURCH. 

The present Baptist church of Warner is not the off- 
spring or representative of the old Anti-pedobaptist 
church of 1793. That died "without issue." The 
present church is of comparatively recent origin, not 
having yet been in existence fifty years. It was or- 
ganized in the month of September, 1833, and their 
house of worship was dedicated at the same time. 
Rev. Ira Person, of Newport, preached the dedica- 
tory sermon in the forenoon, and in the afternoon 
the newly-formed church received the fellowship of 
the denomination, when a sermon was preached by 
Rev. E. E. Cummings, of Concord. 

Rev. George W. Cutting, a native of Shoreham, Vt, 
was the first pastor of this church. He was settled 
January, 1835, and continued in this relation till Sep- 
tember, 1840, when he resigned to accept a call from 
33 



508 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

the Baptist churcli in Lyme. After remaining at Lyme 
a few years, Mr. Cutting had charge of a church at 
Fitzwilliam, but about ten years ago he left New 
England to make his home in Iowa. He was very 
popular in Warner, both with his church and with the 
people of the town. 

Kev. John M. Chick, a native of Wells, Me., and a 
graduate of New Hampton Theological Institution, 
was the second pastor. He commenced his services 
with this church in September, 1840, and continued 
with it nearly six years. While he was looking after 
the interests of the parish, his wife was engaged in 
school, where she had flattering success. Mr. Chick 
now resides at Ayer Junction, Mass. 

Rev. J. S. Herrick was the third pastor. He came 
in 1846, and remained five years. Since leaving 
Warner he has been settled in Rumney, and in Troy, 
N. H. He still presides over the Baptist church at 
the latter place, where he has been settled a great 
many years. 

Rev. L. Sherwin succeeded Mr. Herrick. He com- 
menced his labors in February, 1852, but in April, 
1853, he resigned his charge on account of failing 
health, and was soon " called to lay his armor off." 

Rev. N. J. Pinkham, a native of Dover, and a grad- 
uate of New Hampton Theological Institution, came 
in April, 1853, and remained till February, 1857. He 
now has charge of a church at Thompson, Conn. 



THE BAPTIST CHUECH. 509 

Rev. Henry Stetson, of Maine, was pastor of this 
church from 1860 to 1864. 

Rev. Albert Heald, from 1865 to 1870, when he re- 
signed to accept a call from the church at Amherst. 
He is now pastor of the Baptist church at Meriden. 

Rev. William H. Walker, a graduate of Brown Uni- 
versity, and of Newton Theological Institution, became 
the pastor in May, 1873, which position he still holds. 

Among the early pillars of this church were Na- 
thaniel Eaton, Jonathan Emerson, Richard F. Rogers, 
and Jesse Hardy. The church has a fund of $2,000, 
which was left by two of its deceased members. One 
half of this amount was the gift of Mrs. Abigail K. 
Simonds, and the other half the gift of Mrs. Betsey 
Dimond Tucker. The interest of this money goes 
towards the support of preaching. The church has 
also a parsonage, which was the gift of Mrs. Simonds. 

The Free Will Baptists have had an organization in 
town, and at one time and another have had consid- 
erable preaching, but they have never had a church 
edifice or a settled minister. They have occupied the 
town hall and the school-houses. In early days their 
religious services were often held in private houses, 
and sometimes in the shady grove. The old school- 
house under the hill, in District No. 8, was for many 
years, through the summer seasons, a recognized sanc- 
tuary. A church organization existed there, and the 
church ordinances were regularly observed. Men and 



510 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

women poured in from every direction, and there was 
generally a large and devoted congregation. 

The Methodists have had an organization in Warner, 
and in times past have maintained public worship. 
A meeting-house, partly (perhaps mainly) built by 
them, now stands in a good state of preservation at 
the Lower Village. It is not regularly occupied. 

The Universalists organized, and (largely through 
the activity of Daniel Bean, Jr.) built a meeting-house 
in 1844. For several years there appeared to be 
health and perseverance in the organization. The 
desk was occupied two or three years by a native- 
born citizen of the town ; at a later day by Rev. 
J. F. Witherell ; and still later, by Rev. Lemuel Willis, 
and others. 

Mr. Willis was born at Westmoreland, N. H. He 
was a strong man, and during .his active life was set- 
tled at Salem, Haverhill, and Cambridgeport, Mass., 
and at Claremont and Portsmouth, N. H. In 1847 he 
married, for his second wife, the widow of Major Dan- 
iel George, and during his last years he resided in 
Warner, where he died in 1878. His sons are Dr. 
AVillis, of Boston, Algernon S., of Claremont, and Har- 
lan S., of Warner. His only daughter (the wife of 
Philip C. Bean) died several years since. 

The meeting-house was purchased in 1865 by N. 
G. Ord way, moved down street by him, and remod- 
elled. The lower story is now occupied by A. C. 



THE OSGOODITES. 511 

Carroll, merchant, and the post-office. The upper 
story is Union hall. 

The Osgoodites (so-called) were at one time quite 
numerous in Warner. In Canterbury, and some other 
towns, there was a small number. The sect sprung 
into existence about the year 1812. Jacob Osgood, 
son of Philip, was its founder. His physical weight 
sometimes reached 350 pounds. He was a man of 
considerable ability and of the warmest sympathies. 
After his decease, Neheraiah Ordway and Charles H. 
Colby became the " ruling elders." In their best 
days, and perhaps always, these people claimed mirac- 
ulous gifts, such as the healing of the sick. Their 
meetings were peculiar, consisting of one service, all 
taking part. Songs, prayers, and exhortations were 
intermixed without much regularity. When there 
came a lull, unlike the Quakers, they did not sit in 
silence. Bro. Osgood, without rising, would close the 
exercises in these words : " If there 's no more to be 
said, meeting 's done." 

For their spiritual songs they relied less on Watts 
than on their own ready talent. They were naturally 
inclined to antagonize other denominations. About 
the year 1830, and for two or three subsequent years, 
there was unusual religious excitement in and about 
Warner. Great " revival meetings" were held, one 
of which was on Kearsarge mountain. The Osgood- 
ites composed a song (referring to this fact) which 



512 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

was very popular in their meetings for years. It 
consisted of twelve or fifteen verses, the first of which 
was as follows : 

In eighteen hundred thirty-two, 
A band of locusts hove in view ; 
They were quite thick in every town : 
They had great meetings all around. 

This sect was opposed to " bearing arms/' and many 
years ago two or three of its members were committed 
to jail at Hopkinton for refusing to do military duty, 
or to pay fines. They pleaded " conscientious scru- 
ples," but refused to " pay an equivalent," as provided 
in the thirteenth article of the Bill of Rights, and they 
were carried to jail. But the military authorities, 
seeino- that these men rather a;loried in their " mar- 
tyrdom," went and released them. 

The sect has substantially passed away. Notwith- 
standing its many and striking peculiarities, the men 
and women who composed it were probably about an 
average class in all that goes to make good neighbors 
and upright citizens. 

There are also Adveniists in Warner ; how numer- 
ous or how active at the present time the writer pre- 
sumes not to say. But whether their numbers be 
small or great, their rights are the same. Under the 
liberal laws of this country every one is left free to 
enjoy his own religious convictions in his own way. 
We cannot altogether harmonize our beliefs, but we 
can certainly " agree to disagree" till the time come 



ECCLESIASTICAL. 513 

when there shall be neither Jew nor Greek, nor bond 
nor free, nor barbarian, nor Scythian, but when dis- 
cord and division shall cease utterly. 

The following is an imperfect list of persons who 
have gone out from Warner, and taken position in the 
ministrj^ : 

Asa Putney. [See College Graduates.] 
Hosea Wheeler. [See College Graduates.] 
Daniel Sawyer., a son of Edmund and grandson 
of Joseph, was educated for the ministry. He was 
settled over a Congregational church in Merrimack, 
where he preached many years. He has probably 
been settled at other places, but he has now retired, 
in his old age, to a quiet home in Hopkinton. 

John Gould, a son of John, and grandson of Jona- 
than, was born and reared on the Gould road. He 
became a minister, and connected himself with the 
Methodist denomination. After preaching in the New 
England states some twenty-five years, his health be- 
coming impaired^ he went West, and took up a farm 
in Iowa. This was in 1857. The change was benefi- 
cial. He joined the Upper Iowa Conference, was sta- 
tioned one year at Waverly, was presiding elder four 
years on Cedar Falls District, and was then four years 
on the Upper Iowa District. His health again failed, 
and for the last six years of his life he was compelled 
to inactivity. He was a fine-looking man, had good 



514 HISTORY OP WARNER. 

abilities, and was held in high esteem. He died at 
Osage, Iowa, in 1872, not far from 70 years of age. 

Reuben Kimball, a son of Jeremiah and grandson 
of Reuben (the first), obtained a good education, and 
taught school in his early days. He remained on the 
old homestead of his grandfather and father, on the 
Kimball road, and devoted his attention mainly to 
agriculture till he reached the age of 40 or upwards. 
He then turned his attention to the ministry, and 
studied a few years at Gilmanton Theological Institu- 
tion. He was settled over the Congregational church 
of Wilmot, and also over that of North Conway. He 
died at the latter place a few years since. He was a 
man of most agreeable manners, and all who knew 
him were his friends. 

Miss Lois Hoyt, whose father was a brother to 
Major Joseph B. Hoyt, and whose mother was a 
daughter of Joseph Sawyer, senior, educated herself 
for the work of a missionary, married a Mr. Johnson, 
of Hollis, and went with her husband to the Sandwich 
Islands over forty years ago, where she still remains. 
She is now a widow, but is surrounded by a family of 
sons and daughters, all of whom are content with 
their home on the isles of the sea. 

Joseph Sargent, a son of Zebulon and grandson of 
Joseph, senior, of Schoodac, was born about the year 
1816. He entered the ministry of the Universalist 
denomination in Pennsylvania when a young man. 




[ Q, ^^t^^ii^^^^^c^, ^ 



ISAAC DALTON STEWART. 515 

but during most of his active life he was in the New 
England states. He was admirably adapted to the 
pulpit. He preached a few years in New Hampshire, 
and many years in Vermont. He was chaplain of one 
of the Vermont regiments in the late war, and shortly 
after his return from the scenes of strife he died at 
Barre, aged about 50. 

Alvah Sargent, a brother to the above named, joined 
the Free Will Baptist denomination, and entered the 
ministry. As a man and minister, he has the full con- 
fidence and respect of all who know him. He enjoyed 
a long pastorate at Ashland, N. H., and is now sta- 
tioned at Wilmot Flat. 

Isaac Dalton Stewart. The Stewart family was 
of Scotch origin. A branch of this family settled 
in the north of Ireland, and a number of its mem- 
bers came to New England, between 1725 and 
1760. John Stewart (one of these) came from Ire- 
land when 20 years of age, and settled at Haverhill, 
Mass. This was in 1750. His son John, who was 
born at Haverhill, in 1758, settled first, after he be- 
came of age, in Deering, N. H., and then, in 1799, 
removed, to Warner, having bought sixty acres of 
land on the south side of the Mink Hills. He made 
his home with Jacob Whitcomb (father of the late 
John) till he had opened a clearing and built a tem- 
porary house. 

John and Mary (McClure) Stewart were the parents 



516 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

of Thomas, John, Polly, Susan, Lucinda, David, Will- 
iam, and Nancy. The last named John, and Hannah 
(Dalton) Stewart, were the parents of Isaac D. 

Philemon Dalton, with his wife and child, came to 
this country from England in the ship Increase, reach- 
ing these shores April 15, 1635. His great-grandson, 
Isaac Dalton, had six children ; and their names are all 
given in a letter written on the battle-field of Louis- 
bourg in 1745, a copy of which letter is now held by 
B. Dalton Dorr, of Philadelphia. One of the six was 
the grandfather of Dea. Isaac Dalton, who was born at 
Salisbury, Mass., March 2, 1761, and who, with his 
wife (Eleanor Merrill), moved to Warner in 1784, as 
stated in Chapter VII. These were the maternal 
grand-parents of the subject of this sketch. 

Isaac D. Stewart was born in Warner, Dec. 23, 1817. 
His fondness for books and school was developed in 
childhood, and when 16 years of age he was teaching 
his first school. At 18 he went to Ohio, and after 
teaching there two years he returned with a full pur- 
pose of taking a college course of study. When about 
fitted for such course, his plans were changed, and 
after two years in a theological school he entered the 
ministry of the Free Will Baptist denomination, and 
was ordained Feb. 2, 1 843. His pastorates have been.— 
Meredith Village, 2 years; Laconia, 8; New Hampton, 
10 ; Boston, 2 ; and Dover, 6. 

He was married, Feb. 8, 1843, to Elisabeth G., only 



ISAAC D. STEWART. 517 

daughter of Isaac Rice, Esq., of Henniker. Their only 
child, Frances, was born July, 1845, and in September, 
1871, she married George Frank Mosher, of China, Me., 
the present editor of the Morning Star. 

Mr. Stewart left Laconia in poor health, in 1852 ; 
went West, remained one year, and returned to enter 
the New Hampton Institution as a teacher. He taught 
two years ; and when he left the school for the pastor- 
ate there, he continued to act as treasurer of the insti- 
tution. He represented the town of New Hampton 
two years in the legislature of the state. 

The positions of trust and honor assigned him in 
denominational work have been many, among which 
are the followinsr: He was' a member of the Home 
Missionary Board for many years, and chairman till he 
declined a reelection; was secretary of the Anniversary 
Convention for eighteen years, and one of the commit- 
tee that arranged all of the annual meeting's of the 
benevolent societies; has been four times chosen a 
delegate to the General Conference, the denomina- 
tional body that meets once in three years, and has 
been secretary of the conference since 1868. He was 
one of the corporators of the Free Will Baptist print- 
ing establishment fourteen years, which position he 
resigned in 1873, on being elected treasurer and agent 
of the establislmient. Since that time he has been 
the publisher of the Morning Star, and of whatever 
said establishment has issued. He was a trustee of 



518 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Bates college, in Maine, till he declined a reelection, 
and is still a trustee of Hillsdale college, in Michi- 
gan, and of Storer college, at Harpers Ferry, West 
Virginia. 

As an author, he prepared the Minutes of the Gen- 
eral Conference for publication ; wrote the history of 
the Free Will Baptists for the first half century of 
their work; and prepared and published the Ministers' 
Manual. He is still an industrious and hard-working 
man. 

Marshall G. Kimball. John Kimball was born at 
Waltham, Mass., June 4, 1788; he came to Warner to 
live in 1816, where he was actively engaged in busi- 
ness some twenty years. He married Hannah, daugh- 
ter of Daniel Bean. Mr. Kimball died at Manchester 
in 1841, and Mrs. Kimball in 1865. Ten of their 
children are now living, — viz., John H., Henry, Mrs. 
Darling, Mrs. Smith, Marshall G., Mrs. Varney, Newell 
S., Albert H., Caleb J., and Mrs. Olzendam. 

Marshall G. Kimball was born at Warner, June 22, 
« 1824. He was a natural scholar; he received his ed- 
ucation at the public schools of Warner and Manches- 
ter, and at Dartmouth college. He concluded a course 
of study at the Cambridge Divinity School in 1854, 
and entered the ministry of the Unitarian denomina- 
tion. His first regular settlement was at Barre, Mass., 
though he had preached at Watertown and several 
other places previous to that. He is now at Sheboy- 



JOHN CURTIS AGER. 519 

gan, Wis. Possessing abilities of a high order, as well 
as culture and genial manners, he is a universal favor- 
ite wherever known. 

John Curtis Ager, a son of Uriah, was born in War- 
ner, March, 1835. At the age of thirteen he left 
home and found employment in Fisherville, in a cot- 
ton mill. From this time (depending upon his own 
resources) he managed, by close economy, to secure 
ten or twelve weeks' schooling each year. His chief 
employments, until he became of age, were working 
in cotton mills, shoemaking, and farming, and, during 
the latter part of the time, teaching country schools. 

From his early childhood he had felt a strong de- 
sire to become a minister. In the spring of 1855, a 
course of lectures on the doctrines of the New Church 
was delivered at Warner by the Rev. Abiel Silver, 
which determined him at once to devote himself to the 
New Church ministry. In the spring of 1856, after 
six months' preparation in the New London academy, 
he entered an advanced class in the New Church col- 
lege at Urbana, Ohio. During the year, as his means 
were limited, he was permitted to undertake the 
studies of two classes. His health failed, and he was 
obliged to leave Urbana in the spring of 1857, after a 
college residence of little more than a year. Recruit- 
ing his health during the summer, he took charge, in 
the autumn, of the New Church academy at Contoo- 
cook. He continued in this position nine months. 



520 HISTORY OP WARNER. 

carrying on at the same time his college studies, so 
that he was enabled to graduate with his class in 
June, 1858. 

After holding a position of tutor in his alma mater 
for two years, he was appointed Professor of Philoso- 
phy and English Literature. In 1861, on account of 
the war, and the consequent financial prostration, the 
college was compelled to suspend its sessions, and Mr. 
Ager, receiving an invitation from the New Church 
society in Brookline, Mass., to become its pastor, ac- 
cepted it. 

In January, 1865, he removed to Brooklyn, N. Y., 
and took charge of the New Church society in that 
city, a position which he still holds. 

He was for several years editor of the New Jerusa- 
lem Messenger, the only weekly paper in that church, 
and he has also served as Secretary of the American 
Swedenborg Publishing Society. 

His summer residence is in Warner, and instead of 
losing his attachment to the place of his birth, he is 
continually looking forward to the time when he can 
make it his permanent home. 

John George, a son of Charles, a grandson of Major 
Daniel, and a great-grandson of John, senior, entered 
the ministry of the Free Will Baptist denomination, 
had a successful pastorate of two or three years at 
Loudon Centre, and is now stationed over a church at 
Amesbury, Mass. 



CHAPTEE XXXiy. 

LOCAL NAMES — POPULATION OP WARNER — FOUR-SCORE YEARS 
AND TEN — MANUFACTURES. 

TO VERY town has its odd local names. Webster 
JQ has its Bashan, Sutton its Nauvoo, Wilmot its 
Shindagan, and so forth. Warner has its local names, 
the origin of some of which is here given. 

Waterloo village came bj its name in the follow- 
ing manner : Samuel Champlin was in trade at War- 
ner village, near Ira Harvey's house. He owed 
Thomas Whitman of Boston, for goods, $2,000. Whit- 
man came up to look after the debt, and he succeeded 
in getting Henry B. Chase and Stephen Currier, Jr., 
to sign a note with Champlin for the amount. This 
was in 1819. Champlin was to secure Chase and 
Currier by collaterals ; but instead of doing this, be 
ran away. Currier and John Kimball, of Bean's Mills, 
were sent in pursuit of the fugitive, having been ap- 
pointed deputy sheriffs for this purpose. They over- 
hauled Champlin at Waterloo, New York, a charming 
town at the foot of Seneca lake. Kimball thought 
it the most delightful village he had ever seen. They 
brought back their man, and Kimball brought back 



522 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

the name and applied it successful!}^ to the village of 
his residence. The Duke of Wellington had then 
recently borne down the " Man of Destiny " on the 
immortal battle-field of Belgium, and Waterloo had 
become forever historic. 

The North village has been known by that name 
a hundred years. There was quite a farmer's village 
on the Gould road at an early day. The lots headed 
on the road, and extended back each way a half mile. 
They were but forty rods wide, and they contained, 
of course, but forty acres each. A number of these 
were chosen by settlers as " gift lots ;" others were 
bought and occupied soon after the gift lots were ex- 
hausted. Between Kiali Corner and Bartlett's brook, 
ten or twelve deserted cellars can be counted where 
families once resided. It was a bustling, lively street, 
a century ago. 

Directly to the north of this cluster of farm-houses 
was another smart settlement, extending from the 
Elliots at one extreme, to Bradshaw Ordway's at the 
other, and taking in on the one side Wells Davis with 
his mills, and on the other Isaac Dalton with his tan- 
nery. The people of the south road called this settle- 
ment of the north road the North village. 

Tory Hill received this name in the days of the 
Revolution. There was a family or two on that road 
who were opposed to war. They inclined towards 
the Shakers in their religious views, and, ultimately, 



LOCAL NAMES. 523 

openly avowed themselves Shakers. The intolerance 
of that period knew no bounds. Every man of the 
proper age, who was not willing to take up arms in 
the cause of the colonies, was denounced as a Tory 
and treated with derision. But generations have 
come and gone since the last vestige of Shakerism 
disappeared from Warner, and the name of the hill 
has had no significance for a hundred years. 

Pumpkin hill derives its name from the fact that 
when the land was new, huge pumpkins (pompions, 
Dr. Long would say) were produced on that eleva- 
tion. It was no unusual thing to find a pumpkin that 
weighed seventy-five pounds. 

Burnt hill is so called, because, before any white 
man had stepped foot in Warner, a high wind had 
swept down the forest trees on that hill by the acre. 
The Indians had set fire to the dead wood, and a 
large part of the hill had been burnt over. It has 
been stated that the Indians raised corn on this burnt 
ground. 

Schoodac gets its name from the harsh music of a 

saw-mill. The first saw-mill ever built there was on 

the exact spot where the present mill stands, by the 

old Col. Roby place. The saw-gate (if that is the 

proper term) worked up and down with a good deal of 

friction, and seemed continually to say S-c-h-o-o-dac — 

s-c-h-o-o-dac ! 

The section of Warner called Joppa is not supposed 
34 



524 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

to bear a very striking resemblance to the Joppa of 
Judea, on the majestic shore of the Mediteranean ; 
nor has it been the abode of any pious Dorcas, at 
whose bier Peter has proclaimed, with miracalons 
authority, — " Tabitha, arise ! " but Samuel Pearsons 
once dwelt there, on the Origen Dimond farm, and he 
came from a locality called Joppa, down by the salt 
water in Newburyport. He brought the name with 
him to Warner. 

POPULATION OF THE TOWN. 

Warner has been settled a hundred and seventeen 
years. In less than sixty years after the first sod was 
turned, the population of the town reached its highest 

262 
863 
1569 
1838 
2446 
2222 
2126 
2038 
1971 
1667 

It will be seen that the increase for fifteen years 
after the first census was very great ; also, that the 
population was nearly doubled in the decade between 
1790 and 1800. The large increase between 1810 
and 1820 is partly attributable to the annexation of 
the Gore, which took place in 1818. Since 1820 the 



figure. 








In 1775 it was 




In 1790 






In 1800 






In 1810 






In 1820 






In 1830 






In 1840 






In 1850 


u • 




In 1860 






In 1870 





FOUR-SCORE YEARS AND TEN. 525 

population of the town has been decreasing, but the 
indications now are that the census of 1880 will show 
that we are holding our own. 

We have more adults, — more voters, certainly, — 
now, than \ye had in 1820, but the children are far 
less numerous than at that time. The town-house is 
full, but the school-houses (some of them) are nearly 
empty. A century ago, and even fifty years, ago, in 
riding over a town like Warner, one would see from 
five to eight white-haired children racing about the 
premises of almost every young farmer. He will do 
well now if he can find half that number. The sub- 
ject is an important one, and it demands the careful 
consideration of the moralist, the minister, and of all 
thinking people. 

The population of the state in 1860 was 326,073, 
that being the highest point it ever reached. It fell 
off in the following decade^ being but 318,300 in 1870. 
It is believed that the next census will show an in- 
crease. Merrimack and Hillsborough counties made 
an increase of 2800 between 1860 and 1870, but the 
other eight counties made a loss. 

FOUR-SCORE YEARS AND TEN. 

An erroneous impression prevails in regard to the 
question of longevity. The general opinion appears to 
be, that life is becoming shorter and shorter as time 
advances. The fact, however, undoubtedly is, that in 



526 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

this country, for the last century or two, the average 
ag-e of mankind has been increasing. 

Turning back to remote antiquity, we find the 
Psalmist declaring, " The days of our years are three- 
score years and ten ; and if by reason of strength 
they be four-score years, yet is their strength labor 
and sorrow." This would be hardly true of the peo- 
ple of this country at the present time. Three-score 
years and ten is 70 years. Men and women are now 
young at 70. Even at 80 many are vigorous and 
healthful, in both body and mind, and not a few re- 
tain their faculties almost unimpaired till they have 
reached the age of 90. 

The names of Warner persons, dead and living (so 
far as they can be recalled), who have reached the 
age of four-score years and ten, are here presented. 

Gideon Davis, brother to Capt. Francis, died on the Moses E. 
Davis place at the age of 92. 

Mrs. Hannah, widow of Zebulon Flanders, lived to be nearly 94. 

Mrs. Sarah, widow of Asa Harriman, died in 1856, aged 91. 

Anthony Clark, the Revolutionary soldier, died at the age of 
100. 

Miss Hannah Sible^^ died at Timothy Eastman's, rising 90 
years of age. 

John Davis, the carpenter, and the father of John, Zaccheus, 
and Eleazer, died at the age of 90. 

Mrs. Betsey, widow of Jonathan Straw, died at AKred W. Sar- 
gent's, a few years since, at the age of 101. 

Nathaniel Eaton (who is reasonably claimed as a Warner man) 
died at the age of 100 years and 5 days. 

John Whitcomb, a hard-working farmer through life, died in 
1878, aged 93. 



MANUFACTURES. 527 

Mrs. Nathaniel C. Whittier, the mother of Richard B., died 
in Warner at the age of 93. 

Noah T. Andrews died November, 1878, two months above 90 
years of age. 

The father of Mr. Andrews was from Wallingford, Conn. He 
settled in Claremont, N. H., when a young man, and Noah T. 
was horn there (ori the exact spot where the town hall now 
stands), September, 1788. He married Sally (daughter of Daniel 
Bean), and had children by the following names : Sarah B. (Mrs. 
John P. Colby), Almira E. (Mrs. Harriman). Harriet B. (Mrs. C. 
G. Haines), Susan T. (Mrs. H. D. Adams), N. Tyler, William G., 
Helen M. (Mrs. A. I. Sawtelle), Charles C. Austin, and Fran- 
ces M. 

Mrs. Miriam, widow of Jacob Osgood, is now living at the age 
of 99. 

William Lamphier, of Joppa, is nearly if not fully 100 years of 
age. 

Mrs. Heath, widow of Dea. David Heath, has gone consider- 
ably beyond her four-score years and ten. 

Reuben Porter, who is referred to on the preceding pages of 
this book, is nearly 90. 

Timothy Eastman and wife are living in the enjoyment of 
good health, he being not much short of 90 years of age. 

Mr. Eastman came from Hopkinton about the year 1820, and 
settled in the bow of the river, where he has always resided. 
Mrs. Eastman (a sister of the late Stephen Sibley) was also from 
Hopkinton. Their sons, now living, are George and Timothy B. ; 
and their daughters are Laura, Mrs. Andrews, Mrs. Wheeler, and 
Mrs. John S. Bean, of Wisconsin. 

MANUFACTURES. 

It would be impossible to make an accurate and 
complete report of the manufactures of Warner, past 
or present, and that job is not attempted here. 

Many manufacturing establishments, great and 
small, have gone down since the first saw-mill was 



528 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

erected at Davisville in 1739, but others have arisen ; 
and it is believed that the manufacturing, which is 
done in town at the present time, will equal if not 
excel that of any previous period. 

Commencing on the river, where it enters the town- 
ship, we find a grist-mill and a saw-mill, now in the 
hands of Mason Holmes. The first grist-mill at those 
falls was built in the year 1798. A saw-mill may 
have existed there a few years previous to this time. 
The grist-mill was built by Stephen Hoyt, of Bradford, 
and it was his custom to come and grind, the last week 
in every month. The rest of the time the mill was 
closed. The next owner was Thomas Eaton, who sold 
to Edward Cressey and Ebenezer Simmons; and they 
gave the old mill and privilege to Josiah Melvin, on 
condition that it should be put in good order and run 
as a grist-mill. In the spring of 1827 Mr. Melvin 
built the new mill, which now stands. The next 
owner was his son Richard, who sold to his brother 
Nathan ; the latter sold to Abner W. Bailey ; Bailey 
sold to Dr. J. H. Ames, and Ames to Lewis Holmes, 
the father of the present proprietor. Melvin's mill 
and the Calico school-house were old familiar land- 
marks to the generations that have passed away. 

Following down the river, we next come to the fac- 
tory of John Rogers, where excelsior, bedsteads, and 
chairs are manufactured. Next below Rogei^ was the 
woollen mill. This was converted into a box-fiictory 



MANUFACTURES. 529 

by Samuel K. Page, of Henniker, who was burnt out 
in the summer of 1878. 

Bartlett's excelsior factory comes next, which takes 
the place of the Stevens carriage and churn shops. 
Mr. Bartlett and two or three sons are engaged in 
business here. 

Stephen C. Pierce, a manufacturer of chairs, comes 
next; and Oliver P. Reddington, manufacturer of hubs 
and clothes-pins, next. 

Waterloo (great falls) has been a manufacturing 
point almost from the first settlement of the town. 
Nathaniel Bean erected saw- and grist-mills here at 
least a hundred years ago; and there was a day when 
the little village could boast of a tannery, a clothing- 
mill, a trip-hammer, and a paper-mill. 

In 1816, Daniel Bean, Henry B. Chase, and John 
Kimball erected a paper-mill, in which all grades of 
paper, from the finest note to the coarsest wrapping, 
were manufactured. Noah T. Andrews was the w^ork- 
man who built the wheels and the gearing. The first 
dam was twenty rods above the mill. Wm. Parker, of 
Boston, bought out the original owners, and the mill 
was under the control of Gibbs & Greenleaf a number 
of years. Then a Mr. Foley had possession ; then Mr. 
Newton ; then Mr. Churchill. 

Modern mills, with improved machinery, sprang up 
round about, and the Waterloo mill could not compete 
with them in the manufacture of paper. Not far from 



530 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

1842 the gate was shut down, and the wheels ceased 
revolving. The dam and the mill soon went to decay. 

Samuel Couch, who afterwards carried on black- 
smithing near Smith's Corner, had a shop at these 
falls, just below the grist-mill, which shop was supplied 
with a tn2>hammer accompaniment. 

Dudley Morrill and Nicodemus Watson, about 1812, 
built a clothing-mill and carding-mill at the falls. This 
mill went into the hands of David Watson and Clark 
Sargent, and then into the hands of Frederick Eaton. 
Levi Bartlett came into possession, and converted the 
mill into a tannery. 

Daniel Bean, Jr., carried on the bakery business 
here for a year or two ; but it was given up shortly 
after his decease in 1853. 

There is now a saw-mill and grist-mill at the falls, 
the property of N. G. Ordway. 

At Warner village, the first grist-mill was near the 
Edmund S. Davis house. Jacob Davis owned it at one 
time. It was destroyed by fire many years ago. The 
saw-mill that nearly occupies the site of the old grist- 
mill was built by Robert Thompson. The grist-mill 
and carding-mill, on the other side of the river, were 
built by Capt. Nicholas Fowler and Nathan S. Colby 
in 1830. These mills have been occupied by several 
parties. For a number of years prior to 1844 they 
were owned by Timothy D. Robertson. 

John Ela came up from Derry in 1844, and bought 



MANUFACTURES. 531 

Mr. Robertson out ; and John C. Ela, son of the former, 
became sole proprietor in 1878. 

At Davisville there was once an iron fomidry, where 
various articles were manufactured, such as hand-irons, 
clock-weights, and the like. Old iron was run up and 
used for these purposes instead of ore. Woollen 
cloth was also manufactured there; but the cloth-mill 
went down stream in the great August freshet of 
1826. 

The leadingc business there now is the manufacture 
of what is called straio hoard. Walter Scott and Hen- 
ry C, sons of Nathaniel A. Davis, and grandsons of 
Gen. Aquila, are the proprietors of these mills. 

John Davis, 3d, who came to Warner from Salem, 
Mass., and his son, are carrying on the tannery busi- 
ness on Willow brook. The sons of Moses K. Clark 
have built a shingle-mill, with a threshing-machine 
attachment, on the same brook, to take the place of 
one recently destroyed by fire. Francis M. Watson 
and son have also a factory for the manufacture of 
various kinds of wares on the same stream. 

Just above B. F. Harriman's carriage-shop on Silver 
brook, is the site of the old saw-mill and grist-mill 
and distillery of Wells Davis. 

Francis Davis (a son of Wells) had a large farm, a 
grist-mill, and a saw-mill, on Harriman brook, where 
he was actively engaged the best part of his life. In 
his old age he erected another mill on the same 



532 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

stream, but within the township of Henniker, where 
he died at the age of 80. 

Dea. Ezra Barrett manufactured scythe-snaths at 
Warner village. David H. Foster manufactured rakes 
on Bartlett brook. There was a brickyard on Silver 
brook, near the Willaby Colby road, and another hy 
Isaac Dow's, near Pleasant pond. 

Capt. Nicholas Evans, a brother to Benjamin, had a 
tannery near his house (now the Henry H. Davis 
house) on Pumpkin Hill road. 

There was a grist-mill on Willow brook, near A. D. 
Earnum's. John Morgan had a shop on the rivulet 
at New Market, where he turned out wooden bowls, 
mortars, trays, &c. There is limestone in Joppa, near 
Josiah C. Hardy's, and many years ago lime was man- 
ufactured there. 

"Potter Dimond" manufactured earthen ware at 
Dimond's Corner. He had a large, two-story shop or 
factory, the foundations of which are yet distinctly 
seen. His son. Col. Hiram Dimond, was at one time 
engaged in trade at that corner, which was quite a 
business centre. 

Walter Scott Davis. Davisville, in the south- 
easterly corner of the town, is one of the beautiful 
villages of Warner. It has the finest water-power to 
be found on the " Almsbury" river, and the proprietors 
of Number One, quick to avail themselves of every 
advantage, placed their first mills there. It is a man- 




'^..^€^RJf'^ 




'Ol^^c^^^-^^ 



WALTER SCOTT DAVIS. 533 

ufacturinu; villao;e, thouQ-li D. C. Hubbard is eng-aafed 
in mercantile business, and Charles Davis, Charles P. 
Sawyer, Theodore S. Davis, and others there, are 
among our best farmers. The village takes its name 
from the Davis family, who, from the first settlement 
at the " old camp," have been in continuous possession 
of the falls. 

The subject of this sketch is a grandson of Gen. 
Aquila Davis, and a son of Nathaniel A., the names of 
whose children (now living) are as follows : Stephen 
C, Walter S., Oilman, Lucretia A., Mary E., Stillman 
C.,and Henry C. 

W. Scott Davis was born at Davisville, July 29, 
1834. He obtained an excellent education, for, besides 
enjoying the advantages of a good district school, he 
was a student at a high school in Contoocook, at Gil- 
manton academy, at Tubbs Union academy in Wash- 
ington, at Thetford ( Vt.) academy, and at the New 
London Scientific Institution. He earned money 
enouo-h in teaching: schools during; the winter seasons 
to pay all the expenses of board, books, tuition, and 
clothing, incurred at these several academies. 

In 1854, at the age of 20 years, he went into busi- 
ness with Samuel H. Dow. The firm dealt largely in 
hemlock bark, in wood, and in lumber, for some ten 
years or more. In 1865 he formed a partnership with 
Paine Davis, which carried on the same business, with 
farming added. This partnership was dissolved in 



534 HISTORY OP WARNER. 

1871, Paine retaining the wood and bark branch, and 
W. S. the lumber branch, of the business. The same 
year the latter entered into partnership with George 
W. Dow, in the paper (or straw board) business. Davis 
bought Dow out in the fall of 1875, and took his 
brother, Henry C, into company with him, and this 
firm still continues. They manufacture 600 tons 
(|40,000 worth) of straw board annually, and the firm 
stands deservedly high wherever known. They have 
also a grist-mill, a saw-mill, and a threshing-machine, 
all run by water. 

In 1870, Mr. Davis invented improvements in tur- 
bine water-wheels, for which he received letters patent 
in February, 1871. 

He lived at Davisville till April, 1874, when he 
removed to Contoocook. In March, 1878, he was 
elected representative to the general court from Hop- 
kinton, and was known as an influential member of 
the House. He declined the nomination that was 
tendered him at the next election. 

May 3, 1857, Mr. Davis married Miss Dollie Jones, 
daughter of Daniel Jones, senior, who was a particu- 
lar friend, and at one time a partner in the lumber 
business with Gen. Aquila Davis. Six children have 
been born to these parents, three of whom died of 
scarlet fever in the spring of 1869, one died in infan- 
cy in 1874, and two survive. 



CHAPTEE XXXY. 

FATAL CASUALTIES — SUICIDES — PRIVATIONS — WOMAN LOST — 
WILD BEASTS WITCHCRAFT. 

iHE casualties bj which inhabitants of Warner 
have lost their lives have been of frequent oc- 
currence, and the following catalogue, though large, 
probably does not embrace them all. As dates are 
wanting in many cases, no attempt has been made to 
place these casualties in the exact order of their oc- 
currence. 

Capt. Francis Davis (the founder of Davisville) was drowned 
at Derry, Nov. 26, 1784. 

Ebenezer Sargent, father of Dea. James, was killed at the pres- 
ent Willaby Colby place, by falling down a flight of stairs. 

John Weed, in crossing Bagley's bridge, fell over into the 
river and was drowned. This took place about the year 1785. 

A child of Isaac French was smothered in bed. Mr. and Mrs. 
French lived near the Gould road and Bartlett's brook. They 
were not overstocked with intelligence. A young child of theirs, 
which was well at bedtime, was dead in the morning. On hear- 
ing of this sudden death, the neighbors came in and inquired how 
long the child had been sick, and the father said, — " It went to 
bed as well as ever 't was in the world, but when it waked up 
't was dead 's a hammer !" " Yes," said his amiable spouse, " and 
you was the instbnigator of it, for you rolled over and squshed 
it to death !" 



536 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Paine Davis, son of Francis, was killed by a falling tree about 
1790. 

David Stevens, whose home was either on Waldron's hill, or in 
the Badger neighborhood, was killed in rolling a large boulder 
down a precipice, between the old Gilmore and Putney farms. 

Asa Harriman was killed by a falling tree March 9, 1794. 

A young daughter of Wells Davis was drowned in a well, at the 
North village, about 1795. 

Alonzo, a son of Major William H. Ballard, was burnt up with 
the house of Mr. B. while the parents were at church. 

Levi Bartlett, an insane man, lost his life in a house that was 
consumed by fire, near Richard Bartlett's, in the year 1800, 

Miriam Goodwin and Judith Elliot, two young ladies, were 
drowned in the river near where the Fair Ground bridge now 
stands. One of these was the daughter of Ezekiel Goodwin, at 
the Dea. Bailey place, and the other the daughter of Isaac Elliot, 
near the Capt. Nat. Flanders place. A tree had fallen across the 
river at this point, on which people were accustomed to pass and 
repass. There was a bridge over the river, but it was down 
where the depot now is. These girls came down from home, 
crossed the river, hand in hand, on the trunk of this tree, went 
to Dr. Hall's, and to another place, to invite their young friends 
to a party, and then started on their return. Both were drowned. 
Their bodies were recovered the next day, one's hand firmly 
clasped in that of the other. This occurred not far from 1805. 

Jonathan Watson, of Joppa, son of Dea. Parmenas, and father 
of Capt Cyrus, was thrown from the tongue under the wheel of 
a loaded cart and killed, Sept. 4, 1820. 

Samuel Savory and a child of Daniel Savory, Miss Anna 
Richardson and a child of Peter Flanders, were killed by the tor- 
nado (as stated on a preceding page) Sept. 9, 1821. 

Asa Sargent, son of Benjamin Sargent, senior, of Tory Hill, 
was killed by a fall in the barn. 

William Colby, son of David, senior, was drowned in Warner 
river, in the great freshet of Feb. 14, 1824. 

Thorndike Felton, son of Timothy, was frozen to death in the 
winter of 1828. 

Daniel Flood, a son of the original Daniel, was drowned in the 
Pemigewasset at Franklin. 



FATAL CASUALTIES. 537 

Dummer Pattee was thrown from a wagon loaded with furni- 
ture, and instantly killed, on the plain near Mrs. Pearson's, about 
the year 1833. 

Mrs. Stewart, wife of Capt. John Stewart, was thrown from a 
wagon and killed, Sept. 24, 1834. 

A child of H. G. Harris got a fresh-shelled bean into its throat. 
The mother ran with the child to Dr. Eaton's, biit it was hardly 
alive when she reached there, and she carried it back dead. 

John Rob}', of Schoodac, was found dead in the road, the 
weather being severely cold. 

Harvey Currier, of Joppa, was found dead in a pasture, town- 
meeting night, 1837. 

Albert Morrill, of Joppa, was found dead in the road in the 
winter of 1838. 

Cyrus Colby's house was destroyed by fire about the year 1840, 
and a child of his perished in the flames. 

Samuel Savory was found dead in the road, in the winter season. 

Mrs. John Foster lost her life from her clothes taking fire, 
about the year 1845. 

Mr. John Foster, who came from Hudson to Warner in 1830, 
was drowned at the dam on Willow brook in 1850. 

Imri Whitcomb, son of John, was killed in sledding wood, in 
the neighborhood of 1845. 

John Fisk fell from a saw-mill on Stevens brook, and was 
killed. He left a family of sons and daughters, one of the latter 
being the wife of Gov. Pillsbury, of Minnesota. 

Lorenzo Colby, a son of Barnard, was drowned at Melvin's 
mill in 1850, aged about twenty 3'ears. 

Joseph Fisk, son of John, was drowned in AVarner river in 
1851, aged about 17. 

A son of Abel B. Waldron was also drowned in Warner river. 

A son of Lorenzo Ferrin was drowned at the old John Colby 
abutment in Warner river. 

Samuel Kelley, a youth from fifteen to twenty years of age, 
son of Caleb, was drowned at Waterloo. 

A son of T. D. Robertson was drowned at the Badger bridge 
in Warner river. 

Elliot C. Badger fell down a flight of stairs, and was instantly 
killed. 



538 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Mrs. Prederick Eaton lost her life by being thrown from a 
wagon near Ela's bridge, about 1860. Dea. Frederick Eaton was 
a brother to Dr. Jacob, now of Harvard, Mass., to Eev. Dr. Ea- 
ton, of Palmyra, N. Y., and to John Eaton, late of Sutton, who 
was the father of Gen. John, Lucius, Frederick, Charles, and 
perhaps others. 

A child of Mr. Hurd, on the Plain, lost its life by falling into 
a pail of scalding water. 

A child of William H. Bean, Jr., of Waterloo, lost its life in 
the same manner. 

Tappan Osgood was found frozen to death near Smith's Corner. 

John Hall, a son of Oliver, was killed on the railroad below 
Bagley's bridge. 

Martin Bean bled to death in the woods, from a cut in the foot. 

Nathaniel A. Davis, son of Gen. Aquila, fell from a stack of 
boards at his mill, about twelve years ago, and died from the 
effects of the fall. 

Nehemiah Ordway, enfeebled by age, made a misstep on the 
Willaby Colby road, fell down the embankment into the river, 
and was drowned. 

Webster B. Davis received a fatal hurt from a fall at Ela's 
saw-mill. 

Capt. Joseph Jewell's buildings were destroyed by fire in 1868, 
and a son of his perished in the flames. 

Miss Comfort Peasley, whose home was at the corner where 
Stillman Cheney resides, was run over and killed by a train of 
cars at Enfield. 

Henry Trumbull, of Schoodac, was accidentally killed in load- 
ing a gun in 1877. 

SUICIDES. 

Mrs. Watkins, wife of the second Abner, threw herself into a 
well about the year 1816. Her home was at the Fairbanks 
place. 

Lucy Kelley, daughter of Caleb Kelley, senior, an insane 
young woman, hung herself in 1831. 

Levi Osgood, on the Slaughter Brook road, cut his throat about 
the year 1836. 



PRIVATIONS. 539 

Mrs. Cutting, wife of Rev. Geo. W. Cutting, an insane woman, 
hung herself in 1838. 

Timothy Flanders hung himself at the North village in 1839. 

A Mrs. Brown, who lived at Davisville, hung herself in 1840, 
or near that time. 

Henry L. Trumbull, on Tory Hill, hung himself about the 
year 1845. 

Stephen Sanborn, at the Jonathan Straw place, hung himself 
in 1867. 

Alfred Davis, at the Lower Village, shot himself with a gun 
not far from 1870. 

PRIVATIONS. 

The first settlers of any country are compelled to 
suffer privations and hardships peculiar to their situa- 
tion, but they are exempt from many of the exac- 
tions and annoyances that pertain to older communi- 
ties. This is a life of compensations, and possibly 
the pioneers in the wilderness may gain on one hand 
as much as they lose on another. What if our ances- 
tors did bore with a pod-auger, tap with a gouge, 
mow with a straig:ht snath, lisrht their houses with 
pine knots, eat with wooden spoons, and drink from a 
gourd : their lives were as happy as ours are at the 
present day. 

For the first ten years there were none but log 
houses in town. The first frame house was built by 
David Bagley in 1774, the year the town was incor- 
porated. Francis Davis and Reuben Kimball built 
frame houses the next year. 

Everybody " went to meeting," but on the severest 
34 



540 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

December day the smell of fire was not there known. 
The walls of the church edifice were as cold as an 
iceberg, and as destitute of finish and ornament as 
the cave of Macpelah. 

In mid-winter, when the snow was deep, and the 
roads impassable for horses or cattle, three men went 
to Hopkinton (five or six miles) and brought back 
two or three women on hand-sleds, for help in cases 
of sickness. 

Some of the inhabitants on the Gould road cut hay 
on the Harriman meadow, on the south side of the 
Minks, before any settlement had been made there, 
and hauled it home on hand-sleds in the winter, a 
distance of two or three miles. 

At an early day the beavers constructed a dam 
across Willow brook, at the foot of the Harris mead- 
ow ; a pond was created, the bushes were killed, and 
the grass grew tall and rank. Tradition says two 
men, by the name of Hadley, came from below War- 
ner, cut and stacked the hay on this meadow, drove 
up cattle, and kept them on it through the winter. 
These men amused themselves in tending their stock, 
and in hunting and fishing. They built their hut 
against a large hollow pine log, on the east side of 
the meadow. Towards spring their dog gave unmis- 
takable signs of the presence of game. [This is tra- 
dition.] They cut through the thin crust of the log, 
and came directly upon a bear, which they immedi- 



PRIVATIONS. 541 

ately dispatched. These young men afterwards set- 
tled near Dimond's Corner, but soon left for a newer 
country. 

The luxury of a post-office, or newspaper, or letter, 
was not known for years after the settlement of the 
town. 

Store-keepers kept nothing but articles of down- 
right necessity (if rum and tobacco be excepted). 
The light goods which now fill the drawers and 
shelves of the country store were not wanted, and 
could not have been paid for had they been wanted. 

There were no carriages, and but few horses. The 
little travel which the first inhabitants indulged in 
was made by ox-teams or on horseback. 

There were no matches. Fire was kept by burying 
up coals or pine knots in the ashes. To provide 
against an exigency, some families procured a little 
steel bar, a flint rock, and a piece of dry, decayed 
wood, called punk. The punk would catch the spark 
of fire which a concussion between the rock and steel 
produced. But only a few families had this appli- 
ance, and fire often had to be sought for at the houses 
of the neighbors. This was not altogether back in 
the " dark ages." The writer, in his day, has been 
out in quest of fire more than once. 

Household furniture was very scant, and farming 
implements were rude and poor. Grain was threshed, 
in many instances, on the smooth ledges of the hills. 



542 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Barn floors were small and inadequate ; the mountain 
sides were rough, and while the kernel might easily 
he carried down, the straw, being bulky and compara- 
tively worthless, might be left. There can be pointed 
out to-day, on the mountains of Warner, " threshing- 
floors," perhaps not unlike that of Oman the Jebusite, 
on Mount Moriah. 

WOMAN LOST. 

In 1796 the widow of Asa Harriman, finding her 
cows had not come up one night as usual, started in 
pursuit of them just before dark. She became bewil- 
dered, and had no idea which way pointed towards 
home. She pursued the forest paths for hours. At 
length a dim light was discernible. It was at the 
house of Benjamin Badger, which was not less than 
two and a half miles from her own, in a straight line, 
and there was no road of any kind leading from one 
of these houses to the other. It was now ten o'clock. 
Mr. Badger took his lantern and escorted the lost 
woman home. Reaching there, they found the three 
youngest children asleep on the floor, but the oldest, 
a girl of eight years, was gone. It was now midnight. 
The young children told them that Nancy went to 
find her mother, and had not come back. They at 
once started in searcli of the missing girl, and in a 
wood-path, at least half a mile from home, they found 
her fast asleep, at the side of a log, where, as the 



WILD BEASTS. 543 

mother always expressed it, " she had cried herself to 
sleep." 

This girl afterwards became the wife of Captain 
Thomas Stewart, and among her children now living- 
are Col. Thomas W. and John H. Stewart, merchant 
tailors of Concord. 

WILD BEASTS. 

In former times Avild beasts roamed through the 
forests of Warner, as well as elsewhere. Solomon An- 
nis shot a large wild-cat in 1766. Abner Watkins and 
Thomas Annis killed a bear on the Mink Hills, in 
1769. 

Wolves were somewhat troublesome to the first 
settlers. In some seasons they destroyed large num- 
bers of lambs. 

Dr. Long, in his "sketches," alludes to the case of 
two young men who were driven from Pumpkin hill 
by a bear. As good old Mrs. Caleb Jones used to tell 
the story, it ran thus : These two young men came 
up from Kingston (her native town). They had bar- 
gained for a wild lot, at or very near the highest 
point on Pumpkin hill, but they had paid no money 
and got no deed. They came on with their axes, 
and commenced in the early summer. They built a 
rude shanty, the front end of which was entirely open, 
and the rear end came against the stub of an old tree 
that had been broken down. There was a wide aper- 



544 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

ture, also, at that end, called the window. While 
these young adventurers were peacefully partaking 
of their meridian meal one day, an old bear climbed 
up the stump, and gazed in belligerently upon them. 
They instantly sprung : they stood not on the order 
of their going, but went. They made the best time 
they could. Nathaniel Bean was near the road as 
they threw themselves down the hill, by him, on a 
dead run, one of them bare-headed. Bean sang out, 
"What's the rush?" but, like Job, they answered not 
a word. When they reached Tappan Evans's, they 
sank down in utter exhaustion. After wiping the 
profusion of sweat from their faces, they told their 
tale. Evans gave the destitute one an old hat ; they 
took their departure from town ; and Pumpkin hill 
and the old bear knew them no more. 

The Savorys caught a bear on the mountain in 
1821, and Isaac Cheney, of Wilmot, caught another 
at a later day. 

In the winter of 1833 B. E. Harriman and Harden 
Seavey caught a large deer. They started him up in 
the great woods between Nathaniel Page's old farm 
and How's tavern. 

WITCHCRAFT. 

Coleridge did not believe in ghosts ; " he had seen 
too many of them." But some of our ancestors did 
believe in ghosts for the same reason : they had seen 
both ghosts and witches with their own eyes, and of 



WITCHCRAFT. 545 

course that settled the question. The names of good, 
respectable Warner people might be given, who ap- 
peared to believe in this mischievous delusion without 
a doubt. They would declare, on their oaths, that 
they had seen and recognized witches riding through 
the air on a broomstick ! (They always would ride a 
broomstick!) One man saw a witch riding in this 
manner, who flew so low that her toe-nails ripped the 
shingles from the ridge-pole of his house, there being 
no weather-boards to protect them. The names of 
half a dozen of the inhabitants of Warner, who were 
considered witches and accused of crime, might be 
given, but they are withheld. 

Among the province laws of New Hampshire, the 
following, which was enacted by the General Assem- 
bly at Portsmouth in 1679, is found : 

If any Cliristian, soe called, be a witch, yt is, hatli, or con- 
sulted with a familiar spirit, he or they shall be put to death. 

Though the disgrace of enacting a law like this at- 
taches to New Hampshire, and justly, it is a great sat- 
isfaction to know that the law, or such as that, was 
never executed within the limits of the province. 
No innocent blood has ever been shed in New Hamp- 
shire on account of witchcraft. But persons have 
been accused of this crime, and put on trial for their 
lives. The following is one of the cases of this char- 
acter. 



546 HISTORY OF WARNER. 



COMPLAINT OF SUSANNAH TRIMMINGS OF LITTLE HARBOR. 

On Lord's day 30th of March, at night, going home with Good- 
wife Barton, she separated from her at the freshet next her house. 
On her return she heard a rustling in the woods, and there did 
appear to lier old Goodwife Walford. She asked me where my 
consort was. I answered, I had none. She said, thy consort is 
at home by this time ; lend me a pound of cotton. I told her I 
had but two pounds in the house, and would not spare any to my 
mother. She said I had better have done it ; that my sorrow 
was great, and it should be greater — for I was going a great 
journey, but should never come there. She then left me, and I 
was struck as with a clap of fire on my back, and she vanished, 
towards the water-side, in my ajjprehension in the shape of a cat. 
She had on her head a white linen hood tied under her chin, and 
her waistcoat and petticoat were red. 

Taken upon oath, April 18, 1656. 

Now, according to this affidavit, only one guilty 
party has put in an appearance, and that is Susannah 
Trinnnings, the accuser. Slie lied in saying that she 
had no consort, and probably lied, also, in regard to 
the amount of cotton she had. Perhaps that accounts 
for the clap of fire that struck her on the back. 

But let us hear the damaging testimony of other 
witnesses who appeared against old mother Walford 
in this important suit. 

The account continues : 

Her husband, Oliver Trimmings, says, she came home in a sad 
condition. She passed by me with her child in her arms, laid it 
on the bed, sat down upon the chest and leaned upon her elbow. 
Three times I asked her how she did, — she could not speak. I 
unlaced her clothes, and soon she spake and said, this wicked 
woman will kill me. I asked her what woman. She said Good- 



WITCHCRAFT. 547 

wife Walford. I tried to persuade her it was only her weakness. 
She told me no, and rehited as above, that her back was a flame 
of fire, and her lower parts were numb and without feeling. I 
pinched her and she felt not. 
Taken on oath. 

Nicholas Rowe testified that Jane Walford, shortly after she was 
accused, came to the deponent in bed in the evening and put her 
hand on his breast so that he could not speak, and was in great 
pain till the next day. By the light of the fire in the next room, 
it appeared to be Goody Walford, but she did not speak. 

Agnis Puddington deposes, that on the 11th of April, 1656, 
Mrs. Evans came to her house and lay there all night ; and a lit- 
tle after sunset the deponent saw a yellowish cat ; and Mrs. 
Evans said she was followed by a cat wherever she went. John 
came and saw a cat in the garden — took down his gun to shoot 
her ; the cat went up a tree, and the gun would not take fire. 
She afterwards saw three cats, the yellow one vanished away on 
the plain ground ; she could not tell which way they went. 

Court of Associates, June, 1656. 
Jane Walford being brought to this court upon suspicion of 
being a Witch, is to continue bound until the next court, to be 
responsive. 

What downright absurdity is here ! — and yet a court 
of justice (so-called) listened to this sloppy stuff, in- 
stead of ordering the accusers under arrest, or out of 
the court-house. 

As no further record is found of this case, the pre- 
sumption is that the woman was not brought up for a 
second trial. 

Elizabeth, wife of William Morse, of Salisbury, Mass., 
was accused of witchcraft, and sentenced to be hung ; 
but by the persistence and firmness of Gov. Brad- 



548 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

street, her life, after a severe and protracted struggle 
with the courts, was saved. 

The accuser of this woman, and the main witness 
against her, was Zachariah Davis. His testimony, in 
full, here follows : 

When I lived at Salisbury, William Morse's wife asked me 
whether I could let her have a small passell of winges and I told 
her I woode, so she woode have me bring them over for her the 
next time I came over, but I came over and did not think of the 
winges, but met goody Morse, she asked me whether I had 
brought over her winges and tel her no I did not thinke of it, so 
I came 3 or 4 times and had them in my minde a litel before I 
came over but stil forgot them at my coming away so meting 
with her every time that I came over without them aftar I had 
promised her the winges, so she tel me she wonder at it that my 
memory should be soe bad, but when I came home I went to the 
barne and there was 3 cafes in a pen. One of them fell a danc- 
ing and roreing and was in such a condition as I never saw on 
cafe in before, but being almost night the cattle came home and 
we put him to his dam and he sucke and was well 3 or 4 days, 
and on of them was my brothers then come over to Nubery, but 
we did not thinke to send the winges, but when he came home 
and went to the barne this cafe fel a dancing and roreing so wee 
put him to the cowe, but he woode not sucke, but rane a roreinge 
away soe wee gate him againe with much adoe and put him into 
the barne and we heard him roer severall times in the night and 
in the morning I went to the barne and there he was seting upon 
his taile like a doge, and I never see no cafe set aftar that man- 
ner before and soe he remained in these fits while he died. 

Subscribed and sworn to, June 7, 1679. 

On this evidence a jury of twelve men, — no, of 
twelve idiots or devils, — in Essex county, Mass., in the 
year of our Lord, 1679, condemned a woman to death ! 
Shame on our country, that a score of innocent lives 



WITCHCRAFT. 549 

were sacrificed *in the province of Massachusetts, on 
testimony as contemptible as this ! 

For a time nobody was secure. Old and young 
alike were dragged to execution. In and about Salem 
many people fled the country. Fear sat on every 
countenance. Terror filled every breast. The mania 
was irresistible ; — and to Cotton Mather, more than to 
any other one, belongs the honor of leading this in- 
famous crusade against persons guilty of no crime. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

THE BOUNDARIES OF NEW HAMPSHIRE : AN ADDRESS BY GEN. 
WALTER HARRIMAN, DELIVERED AT CANTERBURY, N. H., MAY 
3, 1878. 

[HE question of boundaiy has always been an interesting 
one, even from that period of antiquity when " Terminus, 
the tutelar god of bounds, was so obstinate that he would 
not stir an inch for Jupiter." The boundaries of nations, of 
states, of towns, and even of farms and city lots, vitally concern 
us. What litigation, what strife, what wranglings and wars, have 
not grown out of this question of boundary. Men are peculiarly 
sensitive about their territorial limits ; they want all that belongs 
to them, and some want more. They go to law and follow the 
courts for years, and spend thousands of dollars about the title 
to a strip of land not worth a ten-dollar bill. 

I believe the people of New Hampshire of the present day are 
but imperfectly informed of the bitter and protracted controver- 
sies which the state has had in regard to her boundary lines. 
Perils by false brethren have beset her, and perils on every hand. 
Indeed, she has barely escaped annihilation. More than two 
hundred years elapsed, from the time when John Mason received 
his grant of the embryo state, before the territorial limits of New 
Hampshire were, b}' due metes and bounds, determined. 

The title to a new country is acquired by discovery, by pur- 
chase, or b^'- conquest. The British government claimed title to 
this country l)}"^ discovery. To be sure, they found it occupied by 
various Indian tribes, but the English did not recognize the 
claims of the roving aborigines to the proprietorship of the soil. 
Holding that that belonged to civilized man, the authorities of 
that realm proceeded to occupy this countrj^, and to found settle- 
ments here. 



BOUNDARIES OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 551 

On the third day of Novembei*, 1620, King James the First 
chartered the Council of Pl3anouth. I quote from tlie words of 
that charter. " There shall be forever, in our town of Plymouth, 
in our county of Devon, a body corporate, consisting of forty 
persons, with perpetual succession, called by the name of the 
council established at Plymouth, in the count}' of Devon, for the 
planting, ruling, ordering, and governing of New England in 
America^'' 

And then the names of those appointed to this council are an- 
nounced. The charter continues : " And we do grant to said 
council all the lands from forty to forty-eight degrees north lati- 
tude, from sea to sea, and all jurisdictions, royalties, etc, in said 
land, and islands and seas adjoining, provided they are not ac- 
tually possessed by any other Christian prince or state." 

On the nineteenth of March, 1628, the Council of Plymouth 
made a grant of Massachusetts to Sir Henry Roswell and others. 
We of New Hampshire are only interested now in the northern 
boundary of that grant. After naming the boundaries on the 
south and the Merrimack river on the north, it is then added, — 
"And, also, all those lands and hereditaments whatsoever, which 
lie and be within the space of three English miles to the north- 
ward of the said river Merrimack, ov to the northward of any 
and every part thereof." (I shall have occasion to notice this 
language more particularly hereafter.) The Atlantic ocean was 
the eastern boundary of this Massachusetts grant, and the South 
sea, meaning the Pacific ocean, the western. To our minds, the 
extension of this grant, on westward, across plains and over the 
Kocky Mountains to the Pacific ocean, appears perfectly wild and 
chimerical. On the fourth of March, 1629, King James the First 
chartered the Massachusetts Company. This charter recites the 
establishment of the Plymouth Council and its grant to Roswell 
and others. It confirms this grant to them, and to Saltonstall, 
Craddock, and others, who had been admitted associates with 
them. It constitutes the grantees a corporation by the name of 
" The Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New 
England." It grants the sajne lands as were granted to Eoswell 
and others, and by the same description, verbatim. 

Kow we come to the grant on which the state of New Hamp- 
shire is builded. I therefore ask you distinctly to remember that 



552 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

the Council of Plymouth, Nov. 7, 1629, " and in the fifth year of 
the reign of our Sovereign Lord Charles, by the grace of God 
King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defender of the 
Faith," etc., granted, assigned, aliened, enfeoffed, and confirmed 
unto Capt. John Mason, his heirs and assigns forever, " all that 
part of the main-land in New England, lying upon the sea-coast, 
beginning from the middle part of Merrimack river, and from 
thence to proceed northwards along the sea-coast to Piscataqua 
river, and so forwards up within the said river and to the further- 
est head thereof, and from thence north-westward until three-score 
miles be finished from the first entrance of Piscataqua river. 
Also, from Merrimack, through the said river, and to the further- 
est head thereof, and so forwards uj) into the land westwards, un- 
til three-score miles be finished ; and from thence to cross overland 
to the three-score miles end accounted from Piscataqua river, to- 
gether with all islands and isletts within five leagues distance of 
the premises and abutting upon the same." Then it is added, 
'' which said portions of lands, with the aj)purtenances thereto be- 
longing, the said Capt. John Mason, with the consent of the 
President and Council, intends to name Neio Hampshire.'''' 

In this great charter we find the foundation of our state. It 
was the state, in its early infancy, and every loyal son and daugh- 
ter of New Hampshire feels a deep interest in these initial steps 
in its creation. Mason conferred the name New Hampshire upon 
this domain in the New World, because the county of Hampshire 
in England was the place of his residence. 

Capt. John Mason was a merchant of London, but became a 
sea ofiicer, and afterwards governor of Newfoundland in America, 
where he acquired a knowledge of this country, which led him, 
on his return to England, into a close attachment with those who 
were engaged ill its discovery. Upon the occurrence of a vacan- 
cy in the Council of Plymouth, Mason was elected a member, 
and became their secretary. He was also appointed governor of 
Portsmouth in Hampshire, England. 

It is essential to my purpose to state that the Province of 
Maine, so-called, bounded west by the Piscataqua river, was grant- 
ed April 3, 1639, by the Crown, to Sir Ferdinando Gorges. The 
Plymouth Council, prior to this, namely, the seventh of June, 
1635, bad surrendered its charter to the King, and ceased to exist. 



B0UNDARIB3S OP NEW HAMPSHIRE. 553 

October 7, 1691, a new charter was granted to the Massachusetts 
Company, by William and Mary, and in this charter was included 
the Province of Maine, formerly granted to Gorges. So, from 
this time forward, New Hampshire had Massachusetts to contend 
with, not only on the south, but on the east as well. 

I do not feel called upon, in this place, to give particular 
attention to the grant made to Gorges and Mason. August 10, 
1622, of what was called " The Province of Maine," which grant 
extended, on the coast, from the river Merrimack to the Sagada- 
hoc, as that was superseded by later grants ; nor to the supjile- 
mentary grant of " Laconia " to the same j^arties, for that soon 
disappears from the public records, and the presumption is that 
it was forfeited, or that it failed through some defect or informal- 
ity. Besides, the boundaries of that grant, on the north and 
west, were painfully indefinite and uncertain, — " The said lands 
lying and bordering upon the great lakes and rivers of the Iro- 
quois, and other nations adjoining." One is reminded here of 
what Rufus Choate said, when attacking the Commissioners on 
the boundaries of IJhode Island and Massachusetts. Said he, — 
" I would as soon think of setting foi'th the boundaries between 
sovereign states as beginning at a blue-jay on the bough of a 
pine tree, thence easterly to a dandelion gone to seed, thence due 
south to three hundred foxes with fire-brands tied between their 
tails." 

I need not consider here the iinion of New Hampshire with 
Massachusetts under one government, which lasted thirty-nine 
3^ears, nor the fact that at a subsequent time one governor 
ruled over both provinces for a long period. I need not consider 
the famous Wheelright Deed, even if that deed was genuine and 
not a forgery. I need not investigate the question whether the 
line, from point to point in Mason's grant, should be a curve or 
a straight line ; nor need I attempt to settle the question of the 
validity of the claim of Mason's heirs to certain portions of the 
soil of the state ; nor allude to the grant made to Edward Hilton 
in 1630, sometimes called the Swamscot patent. In none of the 
disputes arising upon these points were the outer limits of New 
Hampshire involved. The boundaries of the state were not 
menaced, and I shall therefore permit those questions to sleep. 



554 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

STRIFE WITH MASSACHUSETTS. 

During periods of great public concern, like King Philip's 
War of 1675, or the invasion of Canada in 1690, the boundary 
controA^ersies were silent, but, generally, till the final adjustment 
of those questions, the condition of affairs was substantially as 
stated by Gov. Belcher, in a letter to the Lords of Trade in Lon- 
don, in which he says, — " I have taken all possible care to have 
the long-contested boundaries betwixt the Massachusetts and 
New Hampshire adjusted agreeable to His Majesty's Ro3'al Or- 
ders to me, but I can see no prospect of its being accomplished, 
and the Borderel-s, on the lines (if your Lordships will allow me 
so vulgar an expression), live like toads under a harrow, being 
run into jails, on the one side and the other, as often as they 
please to quarrel, such is the sad condition of His Majesty's sub- 
jects that live near the lines. They pull down one another's 
houses, often wound each other, and I fear it will end in blood- 
shed unless His Majesty, in his great goodness, gives some effect- 
ual Order to have the Bounds fixt.'' • 

This strife having become intolerable, unusual efforts were 
initiated, about 1730, for a settlement. The Assembly of New 
Hampshire proposed that a committee, consisting of disinterested 
persons, be appointed by the two governments to " sit on the 
case." They proposed Col. William Codrington and Col. John 
Wanton, of Rhode Island, and Mr. John Lydall, merchant, of 
Boston, to act for New Hampshire. After much wrangling be- 
tween the two governments, and the failure of this project, on 
the recommendation of Gov. Belcher, who was governor of both 
provinces, and a native of Massachusetts, an act was passed as 
follows : " Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor, Coun- 
cil, and Representatives convened in General Assembly, that the 
Hon. Adolph Phillips of New York, chosen and appointed by 
the two governments, and the Hon. Joseph Jenks of Rhode 
Island, chosen and api»ointed on the part of this government, and 
the Hon. Joseph Talcott of Connecticut, chosen and appointed 
by the government of Massachusetts Bay, be commissioners to 
repair to the places where the aforesaid controversy arises, and 
fully to hear each side, and finally to fix and settle said bounda- 
ries between the said provinces, according to His Majesty's afore- 



BOUNDARIES OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 555 

said instructions ; that is to say, the boundary between the prov- 
ince of New Hampshire and the \iite province of Maine, as well 
as the other boundary between New Hampshire and the Massa- 
chusetts Bay." 

In April, 1731, Gov. Belcher, in his message to the Council 
and House of Representatives of New Hampshire, says, — " I am 
now to acquaint you, gentlemen, that the late General Court of 
the Massachusetts Bay have past a law much of the nature of 
that past here the last fall, for settling the long-disputed bounds." 
The secretary brought down a copy of this act of Massachusetts, 
and Joshua Pierce and Nathaniel Weare, Esqrs., were appoint- 
ed a committtee to draw up objections to the same. I will 
not quote in extenso from the objections they drew up. A single 
paragraph will be sufficient. They say, — " We have carefully 
perused the transcript of the act passed hy the government of 
Massachusetts Bay for settling the boundary lines, which we 
can by no means think reasonable, nor corresponding to His Maj- 
esty's instructions in scarce one paragraph.'''' New Hampshire 
adhered substantially to the terms of her act ; Massachusetts 
adhered to hers, and, after much irritation and bickering, this 
scheme also failed. Perplexed, but not in despair. New Hamp- 
shire tried again. On the seventh daj^ of May, 1731, she voted 
" That there be a Committee from the General Assembly ap- 
pointed, to meet a like Committee from the General Assembly of 
Massachusetts, at Newbury, the tenth day of June following," to 
try once more for an agreement. But the Assembly of Massa- 
chusetts did not readily respond. They did not come to time on 
the tenth of June. Effort upon effort was made to secure such 
meeting at Newbury, but for weeks and months to no purpose. 
At length, however, a meeting of the committee of the two prov- 
inces was effected at the appointed place. It occurred the thir- 
tieth of September, 1731, but was utterly barren of results. At 
this meeting, the committee on the part of Massachusetts claimed 
that all lands or towns which either govei-nment are in possession 
of, be reserved to the several governments, both as to jurisdiction 
and property. The New Hampshire committee utterly refused 
to comply with this demand, stating that it would bring the 
dividing line at least eleven miles and three quarters to the north 
ward of the Merrimack river, instead of three miles, according to 
36 



556 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

the terms of their grant. When the New Hampshire committee 
had peremptorily refused tliese hard terms, tlie Massachusetts 
committee stated that " they could not act any further, for, as 
they had particular directions, they were obliged to confortn to 
them^ And this attempt at settlement went also to the '' tomb 
of the Capulets." 

An appeal to the king was now the only alternative. Such 
appeal was taken, and New Hampshire having no agent in Eng- 
land to present her cause, appointed Capt. John Rindge for that 
purpose. He was a merchant in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 
and was about to take passage for London on his mercantile busi- 
ness. Being a man of means, he advanced what money was 
necessary to prosecute the design of his appointment. On his 
arrival in England he petitioned the king in behalf of the prov- 
ince of New Hampshire to establish its boundaries. Having 
accomplished his private business, and being obliged to return 
home, Capt. Rindge left the care of the petition with John Thom- 
linson, Esq., a merchant of London, who was well known here. 
This petition was presented to the court of Great Britain, Feb. 
28, 1732. His Majesty referred it to the Lords of the Council, 
March 29, 1733, and their Lordships referred the same to the 
Lords of Trade in April. Five long, wearisome years elapsed 
after the presentation of this petition before definite action was 
taken. How execrable is procrastination ! This matter, so vital 
to the well being of the provinces, must be put off. Disorder and 
contention are again rampant ; men pass away ; years come and 
go ; and at last, on the ninth day of April, 1737, His Majesty's 
commission, under the great seal, is issued. It was directed to 
twenty commissioners, discreet men, living in His Majesty's 
other loyal provinces, not less than five of whom should consti- 
tute a quorum. The king directed that the commissioners should 
hold their first session at Hampton, N. H , Aug. 1, 1737. 

This commission was sent to Capt. John Rindge, of Ports- 
mouth, who kept it till the meeting of the commissioners, and 
then delivered it to them. The expense of it, amounting to 135 
pounds sterling, was paid by the agents of New Hampshire. 

On the day appointed, eight of the commissioners met at Hamp- 
ton. They published their commission, opened their court, chose 
William Parker, of Portsmouth, clerk, and George Mitchell, sur- 



BOUNDARIES OP NEW HAMPSHIRE. 557 

veyor. The following are the names of the eiglit who met and 
constituted the court : 

Wm. Skene, President, ^ 

Erasmus James Phillips, VlSTova Scotia. 

Otho Hamilton, J 

> 

Samuel Vernon, 
John Gardner, 

John Potter, > Rhode Island. 

Ezekiel Warner, | 

George Cornel, J 

Able men from each of the two provinces were to act as agents 
before this board. The Assemblies of the provinces convened at 
the same time, that of Massachusetts at Salisbury, and that of 
New Hampshire at Hampton Falls, only six miles apart. " With 
the utmost vigilance and jealousy they watched one another." It 
was an occasion of vast moment to those directly concerned. 

To overawe the adverse party, a large cavalcade was formed in 
Boston, which, with a troop of horse, escorted Gov. Belcher to the 
scene of conflict. This pomp and display was the occasion of the 
following satirical verses, in an assumed Hibernian style : 

Dear Paddy, you ne'er did behold such a sight 
As yesterday morning was seen before night : 
You in all your born days saw, nor I did n't neither. 
So many fine horses and men ride together. 

At the head, the lower House trotted two in a row : 
Then all the higher House pranced after the low : 
Then the Governor's coach galloped on like the wind. 
And the last that came foremost were the troopers behind. 

The commissioners met at the place and on the day appointed. 
The New Hampshire agents were ready, and they presented their 
case. The Massachusetts agents were not ready. The purport 
of the New Hampshire claim was this : that the southern bound- 
ary of the province should begin at the end of three miles north 
from the Merrimack river where it runs into the Atlantic ocean, 
and from thence should run, o?i a straight line west, up into the 



558 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

main land, towards the South sea, until it meets with His Majes- 
ty's other governments. That the eastern boundary should be- 
gin at the entrance of Piscataqua harbor, and so pass up the same 
into the river Newichwannock (now Salmon Falls), and through 
that unto the farthest head thereof, and from thence north-west- 
ward, tbat is, north, less than a quarter of a point westerly, as far 
as the British Dominion extends. That the western half of the 
Isles of Shoals lay within the province of New Hampshire. 

Such was the Xew Hampshire case as contended for through 
weai-y years, and as presented, by the agents of the province, to 
the king's commissioners at Hampton. There was no ambiguity 
about this claim, and it came to the comprehension of every mind. 
It will be seen that NeW^ Hampshire did not claim from the 
mouth of Merrimack river, according to the conditions of Mason's 
grant, but from a point three miles north of it. The reason is 
this : the grant of Massachusetts antedates that of Xew Hamp- 
shire, and the boundaries of that grant began "at a point three 
English miles north of the Merrimack river." The authorities of 
New Hampshire readily assented to this claim on the part of 
Massachusetts. 

The commissioners adjourned to Aug. 4, met again, and the 
Massachusetts agents toere ready. They now presented their 
(;ase. It demanded a boundary line on the south side of New 
Hampshire, beginning at the sea, three English miles north from 
the black rocks at the mouth of the river, as it emptied itself into 
the sea sixt^^ years ago ; thence running parallel with the river as 
far north as the junction of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesau- 
kee at Franklin, thence due north as far as a certain tree, com- 
monly known, as they said, for more than seventy years, as Endi- 
cott's tree, standing three English miles northward of the said 
junction, and from thence due west to the South sea. This Endi- 
cott tree was at, or very near, Sanbornton Square. 

On the easterly side of New Hampshire, their case claimed a 
V)0uiidary line beginning at the entrance of Piscataqua harbor, 
passing up the same to the river, through that to the farthest 
head thereof, and from thence a due north-west line till 120 miles 
from the mouth of Piscataqua harbor be finished. 

Now let us briefly examine this claim, going first to our eastern 
boundary. There is no substantial disagreement between the 



BOUNDARIES OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 559 

claims of the two provinces till we get to the head of the river. 
That is at Great East pond, lying between Wakefield, ISTew 
Hampshire, and Acton, Maine. A line due north-west from that 
pond, according to the Massachusetts claim, would pass through 
Ossipee, Tuftonborough, Moultonborough, Sandwich, Thornton, 
Woodstock, and Benton, to the Connecticut river at Bath, cutting 
off at least one third of the whole area of the state — cutting off 
the whole of Coos county, most of Carroll, and a large and impor- 
tant part of Grafton. It would barely have left the Great lake 
within our borders, but the " Crystal Hills," as they were for- 
merly called, would have formed no part of the state of New 
Hampshire. 

Now, go to our southern border. The province of Massachu- 
setts insisted that by the terms of their charter the line must 
begin at the ocean, three miles north of the Merrimack river, and 
run parallel with the river on the north side to the great bend at 
Dracut, and then, turning at right angles, continue oil three miles 
from the river, but on the eastvHxrd of it, up through the heart of 
the state, to a line parallel with the junction of the rivers at 
Franklin, and still three miles further on, to a point now in San- 
bornton, at the aforesaid Endicott tree ; then, turning square to 
the left, run due west to the Connecticut river, or to " His Majes- 
ty's other governments." This line, running due xoest from the 
Endicott tree, would pass through Hill, Danbury, Springfield, and 
Croydon, to the Connecticut river opposite Windsor ; and thus, all 
of New Hampshire south of that line and xcest of the Merrimack 
river, together with the strip three miles wide east of that river, 
would have been severed from this province and added to Massachu- 
setts. In tliis tract is comprised another full third of New Hamj)- 
shire — the whole of Cheshire county, the whole of Hillsborough 
county except the town of Pelliam and a part of Hudson, and the 
lion's share of Merrimack and Sullivan counties. This proposed 
mutilation of our territory on the south-west, together with that on 
the north-east, would have left the province with less than one 
third of its present area, and, in the eye of the country, we should 
have been weak ; in wealth and pojjulation, insignificant ; and in 
shape, as uncomely as a New Hampshire senatorial district. 

The Massachusetts authorities, anxious to secure every advan- 
tage, hastened the granting of townships all over the disputed 



560 HISTORY OF WARNElt. 

territory. From Boscawen on the east to Charlestown on the 
west, they laid off two tiers of townships, and gave every encour- 
agement to cause persons to become grantees of these lands. The 
controversy about the boundaries was pending, and they acted 
upon the principle that " possession is nine points in the law." 

Now we return to the king's commissioners at Hampton. Per- 
haps there has seldom been displayed such stratagem, such per- 
sistence and sharp practice, as the contending parties displayed 
before this board. They were men of marked ability, and their 
souls were in the work. I cannot follow them in their arguments 
or their subterfuges. Time will not permit. The pleas, the repli- 
cations, the rejoinders and sur-rejoinders, which were indulged in 
ad libitum^ consumed daj^s and weeks. A painful suspense bur- 
dened every mind; but finally the decision came, such as it was! 
On the second day of September the commissioners decided the 
eastern boundar}^ and decided it substantially in accordance with 
the New Hampshire claim. They begin, in this decision, at the 
mouth of Piscataqua harbor, and proceed northward through the 
harbor and river to the head thereof, and thence north two degrees 
west, as far as the king's possessions go, it being precisely the 
boundary line of to-day. 

In regard to the southern boundary they were unable to make 
a decision, and they referred this most harassing and momentous 
branch of the subject to "the wise consideration of His Most 
Sacred Majesty, the King." The Massachusetts province was 
enraged at the decision on the eastern line. It appealed from 
that decision, and carried the war to the court of Great Britain. 
Thoinlinson, the New Hampshire agent, was there, — quick, vigi- 
lant, and influential. Thomas Hutchinson, the agent of the ad- 
verse party, a man of rare talent and perseverance, was sent over 
from Boston to engineer the cause of Massachusetts. Greek met 
Greek, and the heat of the contest knew no abatement. The New 
Hampshire position before the king, in council, was, as it had 
been before every other tribunal, that, when the grant of Massa- 
chusetts, by the council of Plymouth in 1628, and the charter of 
Massachusetts in 1629, were made, the course of the Merrimack 
river, except near the ocean, was not known by the grantors. It 
was supposed to run, in its whole course, from west to east, and 
in this view only can the language of the grants be intelligible. 



BOUNDARIES OF NEW" HAMPSHIRE. 561 

If the river, two thirds of its length, runs south, and if the grantors 
knew the fact, how could they say " all those lands which lie and be 
within the space of three English miles to the northward of said 
river"? They do not say, all those lands within three miles, on 
the north and east side of the river, or within the space of three 
miles on the right hand side, as we ascend the river. Note the 
exact words, " within the space of three English miles to the 
northicard of said river, or to the northward of any and every 
part thereof." 

I have no donbt that the grantors intended a line substantially 
east and west, but the Massachusetts authorities rejected this con- 
struction of the language employed, and persisted in their claim 
to fully two thirds of all the territory within our present bounds. 
Even more : they intended to '• gobble up " the whole province. 
The agents of Massachusetts, in one of their written arguments 
before His Majesty's commissioners at Hampton, closed with 
these significant words : '' And the colony of Massachusetts then 
hoped, by putting a more adcantageous construction on their 
charter, to have made out a right to the whole province of New 
Hampshire^ 

Gov. Belcher was a supple tool of the Massachusetts authori- 
ties, and, in a wily and adroit manner, did his utmost to forward 
their schemes. He finally became very unpopular in New Hamp- 
shire, and in 1741 he was superseded in the office of governor by 
Benning Wentworth, a favorite son of the province. 

But an appeal has been taken to the king. Another season of 
long waiting and anxiety is endured. Months depart, years roll 
round, but no relief comes. Still justice standeth not afar off. 

On'' the fifth da3'^of March, 1740, the great decision of the Lords 
of Trade, under the sanction of the king, is promulgated, and New 
Hampshire is grateful to George the Second for terminating the 
long dispute. 

The royal decision is far better than even New Hampshire's 
claim. In regard to the eastern boundary, it confirmed the judg- 
ment of the commissioners, giving to this province the south- 
westerly half of the Isles of Shoals, and confirming the boundary 
clear on to Canada, as it stands to-day. The decision on the 
southern line was a surprise to everybody. It established " a 
curved line, followincr the course of the river Merrimack at the 



562 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

distance of tliree miles on the north side, beginning at the Atlan- 
tic ocean and ending at Pawtucket falls (now Lowell), and 
thence due toest to Ills Majesty's other governments^ 

The decision was a total and overwhelming defeat to the Mas- 
sachusetts claim. It was much more than that. The falling of 
the walls of Jericho on the sounding of the ram's horn, could not 
have astonished Joshua more than this decision of the king aston- 
ished the zealous politicians of Massachusetts in 1740. It gave to 
New Hampshire a large tract of valuable territory beyond what she 
had asked. The line claimed by this province, before committees, 
commissioners, and kings,' starting at the ocean where it now is, 
would run through South Plampton, Newton, Hampstead, Derry, 
Londonderry, Litchfield, Merrimack, Amherst, Mont Vernon, 
Lyndeborough, Peterborough, Dublin, Marlborough, Swanzey, 
and to the Connecticut river in Chesterfield. So, by this un- 
looked-for decision, New Hampshire gained possession of parts of 
all the towns just enumerated, together with the whole of Plais- 
tow, Atkinson, Salem, Windham, Pelham, Hudson, Nashua, Hol- 
lis, Brookline, Millbrd, Wilton, Mason, Greenville, Temple, New 
Ipswich, Sharon, Rindge, Jaffrey, Fitzwilliam, Troy, Richmond, 
Winchester, and Hinsdale ; gained a tract of land more than four 
hundred and fift}- thousand acres in extent, and better in quality 
than the average of our New England country. That decision 
stands good to-day. 

The king, ignoring tlie sixty-mile point in Mason's grant on 
the east, carried the line on to Canada because the province of 
Maine was extended there, and, ignoring, also, on the south, the 
sixty-mile point from the ocean, carried on the line xoith Massa- 
chusetts to " His Majesty's other governments," and thus Ma- 
son's curce, or his straight line from point to point, is obsolete. 
The king does not recognize it, and New Hampsliire knows it not. 

CONTEST WITH NEW YORK. 

We come now to anotlier border war, in which New Hamp- 
shire was one of the belligerents. Previous to the Revolution, 
both New York and New Hampshire claimed all the territory 
that now constitutes the state of Vermont. New York claimed 
it under the terms of her royal grant. Charles the Second, in 
1663, granted to his brother James, Duke of York, and to his 



BOUNDARIES OP NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



563 



heirs and assigns, "All the lands from the west side of Connecti- 
cut river to the east side of Delaware bay." This language 
seems plain enough ; hut, as New York never extended to Dela- 
ware ba,y on the south, nor to within a hundred miles of it ; as 
Connecticut and Massachusetts had established their western 
boundaries beyond the Connecticut river, and on a line but twen- 
t^^ miles east of the Hudson ; and as George the Second, in de- 
ciding the boundaries of ISTew Hampshire, allows her line to ex- 
tend westward " till it meets with the King's other governments," 
Benning Wentworth, and those in authority in this province, 
claimed the territory of Vermont. It is proper that I should say 
here, that Gov. Clinton, in a letter to Gov. Wentworth in 1750, 
took the position that the colony of Connecticut was extended 
upon the i^ew York grant by an agreement, and that Massachu- 
setts first went upon their grounds "by intrusion," and that the 
possession was left so long undisturbed by New York that it be- 
came permanent. His successors took the same position through 
all the coming struggle, but I hardly see how they could main- 
tain it. The original grant of Massachusetts was prior to that of 
the Duke of York, and the Massachusetts grant extended "from 
the Atlantic ocean on the east part, to the South sea on the west 
part" 

Gov. Wentworth, nothing daunted by these allegations from 
New York, went ahead. He had granted the township of Ben- 
nington, in 1749, naming it for himself. He proceeded, in the 
years following, to lay out towns on the disputed territory, and to 
receive large fees and presents from grantees for his official ser- 
vices. In a single year (1761) he granted sixty townships, and, 
in all, between the years 1749 and 1764, he granted, in the king's 
name, to New England people, nearly one hundred and forty 
townships of land, about six miles square, on what is now the ter- 
ritory of Vermont. 

During all these years New York sternly protested, but Went- 
worth sternly persisted. Both parties appealed to the king, and, 
July 20, 1764, King George the Third, by an order in council, 
declared " the west bank of Connecticut river to be the boundary 
between the province of New Hampsliire and that of New York." 
This order was received and promulgated in America, April 10, 
1765. 



564 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

Lieutenant-Governor Cadwallader Golden, then acting as chief 
magistrate of New York, treating tlie grants wliicli had been 
made by New Hampshire as nullities, and the settlers under them 
as trespassers on the king's domain, proceeded at once to grant 
the lands anew to others, mostly to New York speculators. In 
two years* time his patents covered most of the lands occupied by 
the New Hampshire settlers. He was stimulated to this work by 
the very great gains derived from the patent fees, he receiving for 
every thousand acres he patented the sum of $31.25, while six 
other government officials had a similar temptation. The secre- 
tary'^ of the province received $10, the clerk of the council $10, 
the auditor $4,624^, the receiver-general $14.62|-, the attorney- 
general $7.50, the survej'or-general $12.50. Thus, the total 
amount of fees for one thousand acres was $90.50, and this 
amount was exacted for every thousand acres, even when many 
thousands were included in the same patent. The fees amounted 
to $2,300 to a township. 

The like motive operated upon succeeding governors, not only 
inducing them to disregard the just and equitable claims of the 
New Hampshire grantees and settlers, but also to disobey and set 
at naught the positive injunctions of the king, forbidding them, 
in the most peremptory terms, from making such grants. 

In the autumn of 1766 the settlers on the New Hampshire 
Grants west of the Green Mountains called a convention, and, on 
mature deliberation, agreed to send an agent to the court of Great 
Britain, to state to the king and council the illegal and unjust 
proceedings of the governor of New York, and to obtain redress 
of their grievances. They appointed Samuel Robinson, Esq.. as 
their agent. Mr. Robinson went upon his mission, and the i"e- 
sult was, an order of the king in council, dated July 24, 1767, de- 
manding that the governor of New York should not, " upon pain 
of His Majest^^'s highest displeasure, presume to make any grant 
whatsoever of any part of the lands described in said report (Rob- 
inson's), until His Majesty's further pleasure should be known 
concerning the same." 

This order was obeyed for a year or two, but as soon as the fall 
of 1769 it was wholly disregarded, and grants of the prohibited 
land were freely made by the succeeding governors of New York, 
until the Revolutionarj' period. The whole quantity of land grant- 



BOUNDARIES OP NEW HAMPSHIRE. 565 

\ 

ed in direct violation of this order exceeded two millions of acres. 
Numerous suits of ejectment were brought against the settlers, 
which were tried before the supreme court at Albany, in June, 
1770. The court refused to allow the New Hampshire charters 
to be read in evidence to the jury, and rendered judgment for the 
plaintiffs in all cases. The settlers met in convention, and re- 
solved to defend their rights " against the iisurpation and unjust 
claims of the governor and council of New York, by force, as law 
and justice were denied them." 

Col. Seth Warner was the guiding spirit in this convention, — 
a man whose countenance, attitude, and movements indicated 
great vigor of body and mind. He championed the New Hamp- 
shire Cause in that contest through all its fiery trials, with a bold- 
ness and a persistence seldom witnessed. 

But the black clouds which portend the Revolutionary war are 
rolling up. The separation from the mother country and the 
independence of the colonies begin to be shadowed. The drama 
of the war opens at Lexington, and all local and provincial con- 
tests are, in large degree, held in abeyance. On the New Hamp- 
shire Grants there was a set of intrepid men, trained to hardy 
enterprise, and ready to encounter danger. At the commence- 
ment of hostilities, a company of these people, styling themselves 
Green Mountain Boys, marched to Ticonderoga, under Ethan 
Allen, and wrested that fortress from the British. Another de- 
tachment, under Col. Warner, took possession of Crown Point. 
The spirit of independence prevailed. The people on the New 
Hampshire Grants resisted the claims of New York. The royal 
decision had fixed the boundaiy of New Hampshire at the west 
bank of the Connecticut river. So, on the 24th day of July, 
1776, a convention was held at Dorset, Vt., which consisted of 
fifty-one members, representing thirty-five towns, which, by ad- 
journment, met again September 25, the same year ; and again, 
at Westminster, January 15, 1777. At this latter meeting of the 
convention it was resolved, no one contradicting, " That we do 
hereby proclaim and publicly declare that the district of territory 
known by the name and description of the New Hampshire 
Grants, hj right ought to be, and is hereby declared forever here- 
after to be, considered as a separate, free, and independent juris- 
diction or state, by the name, and forever hereafter to be called. 



566 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

known, and cUstinguished by tlio name, of New Connecticut." 
This convention adjourned, to be held at the meeting-house at 
Windsor the first Wednesday of the June following. At this 
meeting at Windsor the convention unanimously resolved, " That 
the said district shall now and hereafter be called and known by 
the name of Vermont." 

New Hampshire was understood to be not averse to the erec- 
tion of this new state. At any rate, she uttered no protest 
against it. She felt that the territory of Vermont was placed be- 
yond her reach ; that the royal decree of 1764, declaring " the 
west bank of the Connecticut river, from where it enters the 
province of Massachusetts Bay to the 45th degree of latitude, to 
be the boundary line between New Hampshire and New York," 
was a barrier that could not be overcome. Besides, the Revolu- 
tionary war was now pressing on the infant colonies with fearful 
force. The overshadowing cause of the country engrossed the 
patriotism of the hour, and if New Hampshire was guilty of an_y 
lapses relative to her boundary lines in this great exigency, she 
is to be pardoned. 

DISMEMBERMENT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

But the strangest part of these transactions remains to be con- 
sidered. No sooner had Vermont organized a government, than 
a disposition was manifested by a portion of the inhabitants in 
border towns east of the Connecticut river to dissolve their con- 
nection with New Hampshire and unite with the people of Ver- 
mont. Accordingly, on the 11th day of March, 1778, a petition 
from sixteen towns on the east side of Connecticut river was pre- 
sented to the legislature of Vermont, then in session at Windsor, 
praying to be admitted into its union. The inhabitants on the 
eastern side of the river were conveniently situated to unite with 
those on the western side, and it is probable that they generally 
held the same opinions and views. They argued, that the origi- 
nal grant of New Hampshire to John Mason was circumscribed 
by a line drawn at a distance of sixty miles from the sea, " and 
that all the lands westward of that line, being royal grants, had 
been lield in subjection to the government of New Hampshire 
by force of the royal commissions, which were vacated by the 



BOUNDARIES OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 567 

assumed independence of tlie American colonies ; and, therefore, 
that tlie inhabitants of all those lands had reverted to a state of 
nature.- - 

But this was a mere pretence, and a weak one. It was New 
Hawpahire on the Connecticut river as positively as it was on 
the Piscataqua. It was New Hampshire outside of the Masonian 
line by the same authority that it was inside. All the bounda- 
ries that New Hampshire or any other province had up to this 
period were derived from the king. The people here were his 
subjects. The royal decree had fixed the boundaries of New 
Hampshire, the western boundary being determined, in 1764, on 
the west bank of Connecticut river. Hence, to us, that movement 
in the border towns appears like inexcusable secession. The in- 
habitants in those towns had nothing to comiilain of. They had, 
in ever}^ possible waj-, expressed themselves satisfied with their 
situation. Those towns were settled under the grant of the gov- 
ernor of New Hampshire. They were within the lines thereof. 
Most of them sent delegates to the convention, or congress, of 
New Hampshire, which met at Exeter in 1775, the convention 
which formed the constitution and government under which they 
were then living. From the commencement of the Revolutionary 
war they had applied to their government for assistance and pro- 
tection, and had received it. 

But the disaffected towns were not to be restrained. They 
had presented tlieir request to the General Assembly of Vermont 
to be admitted to a union with that state, and in- June, 1778, at 
its session in Bennington, the legislature of Vermont, on the 
representation of a committee from the New Hampshire towns, 
that the said towns were not connected with any state in respect 
to their internal police, and that sixteen towns had assented to a 
union with Vermont, in accordance with articles mutually agreed 
upon, " Therefore, voted and resolved, that the sixteen towns, — 
viz., Cornish, Lebanon, Enfield, Dresden, Canaan, Cardigan, 
Lj^me, Orford, Piermont, Haverhill, Bath, Lyman, Gunthwaite, 
Apthorp, Laudaff, and Morristown, — be and hereby are entitled 
to the privileges and immunities vested in any town within this 
state." They also resolved "that any other towns, on the eastern 
side of the river, might be admitted on producing a vote of a 
majority of the inhabitants, or on the appointment of a repre- 



568 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

sentative." Thus was this union consummated. Thus was 
New Hampshire dismembered, but the storm of popuLar in- 
dignation began to howl. The leaders in the seceded towns 
made endeavors to have the government of New Hampshire ap- 
point commissioners to join such as they would appoint, to meet 
and decide how much territory should be severed from the state, 
where the boundary should be, etc. Of course, neither Presi- 
dent Weare nor his council nor his government would listen to 
su(;h a proposal. The members from New Hampshire in the Con- 
tinental Congress at Philadelphia were entreated to resist this 
scheme. Meshech Weare addressed them a letter, in which he 
saYs, — " By the best information I have, about one third, — nearly 
one half, — of the people in the defective towns are averse to the 
proceedings of the majority, who threaten to confiscate their 
estates if they do n't join with them ; and I am very much 
afraid the affair will end in the shedding of blood." He also 
wrote a very strong letter to Governor Chittenden, of Vermont, 
a fair construction of which would be, ''If you proceed, you do it at 
your peril." The Hon. Timothy Walker, of Concord, who at this 
time was a member of the council of the state, wrote an able ad- 
dress to the inhabitants of Vermont, in which this passage occurs: 
"It is well known in New Hampshire that the disappointments 
of a small junto of aspiring, avaricious men, in their endeavors 
to raise themselves to a degree of importance in the state far 
beyond what their numbers or estates gave them any pretence 
to, is the source of all this feud." Ethan Allen, in a characteristic 
letter to the government of New Hampshire, speaking of those 
who fomented this disturbance, on both sides of the river, says, — 
''Argument will be lost on them, for the heads of the schism, at 
large, are a petulant, pettifogging, scribbling set, that will keep 
anj- government on earth in hot water." I am very glad to state 
that both Allen and Warner, and other good men in Vermont, 
set their faces squarely against the dismemberment of New 
Hainjjsbire, from the start. 

The bold attitude assumed by New Hampshire, and the oppo- 
sition to this movement which Vermont found at home, caused a 
halt in these proceedings. Vermont desired admittance to the 
confederacy' of states. She sent Col. Allen, whose personal in- 
fluence was great, on to Philadelphia to obtain recognition for 



BOUNDARIES OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 569 

the state. It was known that New York woukl oppose this to 
the bitter end. Allen went on his mission. He returned and 
made his report, on the 10th of October, 1778, to the legislature 
of Vermont, tlien in session at Windsor. In that report we find 
the following : '' From what I have heard of the disapprobation 
at Congress of the union with sundry towns east of Connecticut 
river, I offer it as my opinion, that, except this state recede from 
such union immediately, the whole power of the United States 
of America will join to annihilate the state of Vermont, and to 
vindicate New Hampshire." At this session of the legislature, 
representatives from ten of the " sixteen towns " took their seats 
in the General Assembly, but their situation became embarrass- 
ing in the extreme. Immediately upon the iiresentation of Al- 
len's report, the legislature took measures " to recede from the 
union " which had been formed with the sixteen towns east of 
the river, and, on the 21st day of October, 1778, the assembly 
voted, first, " That the towns east of the river, included in the 
tinion with this state, shall not be included in the county of Cum- 
berland ;" and, second, " That the towns on the east side of 
Connecticut river shall not be erected into a distinct county by 
themselves." This was not the entertainment to which those 
towns supposed they had been invited, for, by these votes, the 
sixteen towns were denied any connection with existing 
counties, and denied the formation of any county by them- 
selves. Of course, the union was virtually dissolved, and it 
is said that " our arm3^ in Flanders " furnished no language 
adequate to this occasion. But the vote was not unanimous. 
On each question there were twenty-eight votes favorable to the 
New Hampshire towns, and thirt^^-three votes unfavorable. The 
next day (Oct. 22) the members from the east side of the river, 
and a number from the border towns on the west side, made sol- 
emn protest against this proceeding, and voted themselves " dis- 
charged from any and every confederation and association with 
the state of Vermont." They then withdrew from the assembly. 
But the end is not yet. Heated discussion, wrangling, crimi- 
nation and recrimination, are rife. The rejected members from 
the east side of the river, with some others on the west side, form- 
ed themselves into a convention, and invited all the towns on both 
sides of the river to unite and set up another state, by the name 



570 ■ HISTORY OF WARNER. 

of New Connecticut. Their lea(lin<]j purpose was, to take about all 
of Vermont east of the mountain chain, and a strip from the west 
side of New Hampshire, twenty miles in width or more, and out 
of this tract, up and down the Connecticut valley, erect their new 
state. In this view a convention of delegates from several towns 
on both sides of the Connecticut was held at Cornish, the ninth 
day of December, 1778. That convention resolved to go forward 
without regard to the limits established by the king in 1764, and 
to make the following proposals to New Hampshire, namely, 
either to agree with them on a dividing line, or to sulunit the dis- 
pute to congress, or to arbitrators mutually chosen. If neither of 
these propositions could be accepted, then, if .they could agree 
with New Hampshire on a form of government, they would con- 
sent '' That tlie whole of the grants on both sides of the river 
should connect themselves with New Hampshire, and become one 
entire state, as before the royal determination in 1764." Till one 
or other of these proposals should be complied with, they deter- 
mined '• to trust in Providence and defend themselves." 

Vermont was in peril. The exigency seemed to demand a more 
emphatic declaration on her part ; so at the next session of the 
General Assembly of that state, which met at Bennington, Feb. 
12, 1779, referring to the union of New Hampshire towns with 
Vermont, it was resolved, " That the said union be and is here- 
by dissolved, and made totally void, null, and extinct ; and that 
His Excellency the Governor be, and he is hereby, directed to 
communicate the foregoing resolve to the President of the Coun- 
cil of the State of New Hampshire." Thus was this brief union 
formally dissolved. But a tempest had been created, and it was 
not easy to control the storm. The inchoate state was shak- 
ing in the wind. The governor of Vermont wrote letters to the 
Assembly of New Hampshire, informing them of the separation, 
but those letters were not entirely satisfactory. The Assembly 
of New Hampshire desired a frank avowal against ^nj future 
connection. It was a day of distrust and jealousy, and nothing 
was sure. 1 exonerate no party and cast censure on none. I ad- 
mit that leading men in New Hampshire, all through this contro- 
versy, held that the state should have persisted in her claim to all 
the territory of Vermont. Woodbury Langdon, a delegate in 
congress at this time, believed that such a stand, boldly taken 



BOUNDARIES OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 571 

and unflinchingly' maintained, would have proved successful. As 
I have "said, New Hampshire at first acquiesced in the indepen- 
dence of Vermont, but after the attempt on her part to sever from 
this state a portion of its territory, a change took place, so much 
so, that by 1779 both the people and the authorities of New 
Hampshire were in favor of asserting claim to the whole of the 
New Hampshire Grants. 

In the year 1779 an attempt was made to form a new consti- 
tution for New Hampshire. In this constitution the claim to the 
whole of Vermont was indirectly recognized. Though this form 
of government was defeated, the sentiment in favor of claiming 
Vermont did not. abate. New York ' renewed her claim to the 
same lands with much vigor, and it was suspected by Vermont 
that intrigues were being formed to divide that state between 
New Hampshire and New York, by the ridge of the Green Moun- 
tains. At an}^ rate Vermonters caught new alarm, and, that they 
might lose no point in the game, they extended their claim west- 
ward into New York, and revived it eastward, into New Hamp- 
shire. 

Congress had been appealed to, but the EcA-olutionary war en- 
grossed its great care, and congress was slow to act. Indeed, less 
than nine disinterested states could not act. A deficiency in the 
representation caused a long delay, — a year or more, — but at last 
the question came up. New York and New Hampshire both 
pleaded that Vermont had no right to independence. The agents 
of the new state spiritedly asserted their rights, and offered to be- 
come a part of the Union. Should this be denied them, they rep- 
resented (to use the words of Gov. Chittenden) that "they should 
be under the disagreeable necessity of making the best terms 
with the British that might be in their power " 

On the sixteenth day of January, 1781, a convention of dele- 
gates from forty-three towns was held at Charlestown, N. H. A 
portion of the towns here represented were on the New Hamp- 
shire side of the river. Each of the parties to the controversy 
was ably represented before this convention, and the delegates 
were warmly beset on every hand. New Hampshire, through her 
agents, was active and hopeful. Twelve of the delegates were mem- 
bers of the council and assembly of New Hampshire. The New 
York agents, who favored a new state that should be bounded 
37 



572 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

by the Masonian grant on the east and the Green Mountains 
on tlie west, were pressing their views with vigor. Vermont had 
also in tlie field men of indomitable energy and perseverance to 
engineer the cause of tliat state. It was no idle convention. The 
governor of Vermont had designated Col. Ira Allen as one of the 
agents of that state. When Allen arrived, the convention had 
been in session two days ; a committee had been appointed to 
consider the situation, and report thereon. Allen says, — "At 
length the committee reported to unite all the New Hampshire 
Grants to New Hampshire, which was adopted, and went, in fact, 
to annihilate the state of Vermont."' Now the friends of that 
state aroused themselves. Allen assured the members of the con- 
vention that the governor and council, and some of the leading 
men on the west side of the mountain, were for extending their 
claim to the Mason line, and that he was authorized to say, if the 
convention would take proper measures, that " the legislature of 
Vermont would extend their claim, at their adjourned term, in 
February, 1781 (the next month), aiicl that he loas authorized to 
gioe such assurance.''^ 

Allen continues : " The report was recommitted ;" " the friends 
of New Hampshire were much pleased with their success, and 
well enjoyed the night, but the scene changed the next morning. 
The committee reversed their report, and reported to unite all the 
territory of New Hampshire west of Mason's line, with the state 
of Vermont, which report was accepted by a great majorit3^" 

Twelve members protested and withdrew. The convention ap- 
pointed a committee to confer with the legislature of Vermont, 
which was to meet at Windsor during the next month, and then 
adjourned to meet at Cornish (only three miles from Windsor) at 
the same time. 

Agreeably to adjournment, the Charlestown convention met at 
Cornish, Feb. 8, 1781 ; the legislature of Vermont assembled at 
Windsor. The New Hampshire towns w^ere desirous of being 
united again with Vermont, in one separate, independent govern- 
ment ; and the convention, in due form, so notified the legisla- 
ture. This application was warmly received, and on the twenty- 
second day of February, the articles of union were agreed 
upon and confirmed. It was provided that the question of com- 
pleting the union on the terms proposed should be submitted to 



BOUNDARIES OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 573 

the several towns in the state of Vermont, and to the towns 
in New Hampshire, to the distance of about twenty miles from 
Connecticut river ; and that if two thirds of the towns on each 
side of the river approved of the union, it should be considered as 
ratified and completed. 

The two bodies then adjourned to meet again in tlieir respect- 
ive places on the first Wednesday in April following. The terms 
of union were submitted to the towns, and at the adjourned meet- 
ing of the legishxture, at AVindsor, AjDril 5, 1781, the result of the 
vote on the question of union was made known. The following 
towns on the New Hampshire side of the river had given in their 
allegiance to the state of Vermont, — viz., Alstead, Gilsum, Hins- 
dale, Chesterfield, Surry, Marlow, Kichmond, Westmoreland, 
Cornish, Plainfield, Croydon, Saville (now Sunapee), Newport, 
Charlestown, Claremont, Acworth, Lempster, Grantham, Grafton, 
Lebanon, Dresden (part of Hanover), Hanover, Haverhill, Pier- 
mont, Dorchester, Lyme, Gunthwaite (now Lisbon), Landaff, 
Lyman, Lincoln, Morristown (now Franconia), Bath, Cardigan 
(now Orange), and Lancaster. 

The assembly appointed a committee to wait on the convention, 
and "inform them that the union is agreed on by a major part 
of the towns in this state, agreeably to the articles of union as 
proposed ; and that the assembly will wait to receive the members 
returned to sit in the assembly, on the union's taking place, to- 
morrow morning at 9 o'clock." Forty-four members liad been 
chosen from the New Hampshire towns east of the Connecticut 
river; they were introduced bj^ the committee to the legislature 
of Vermont ; they produced their credentials, took the oaths of 
office, and were conducted to their seats in the house. 

Thus was the second union between these contracting parties 
consummated, and the same, with due pomp and ceremony, was pro- 
claimed. The next session of the legislature of this new state, — a 
state now stretching from Lake Champlain to the Pemigewasset 
river, — was at Charlestown, N. H., October, 1781. One hundred 
and thirty members were present, representing, according to 
Hiland Hall's history, fifty-seven towns west of the river, and 
forty-five towns east. 

When the legislature convened at Charlestown, as above stated, 
Thomas Chittenden had been reelected governor, but no choice 



Oi4 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

had been made of lieutenant-governor. The House elected Col. 
Elisha Payne, of Lebanon, to that office. Two members of the 
council also belonged to the east side of the river. Mr. Payne 
was perhaps the leader of this movement among the New Hamp- 
shire towns. He came from Connecticut in 1773, and settled in 
Cardigan, now Orange. He was for a time a trustee of Dart- 
mouth college. At the October session of the Vermont Assembly 
in 1778 (during the first union) he was a representative from 
Cardigan. He was prominent in all these conventions which I 
have mentioned, and in April, 1781, he represented Lebanon in 
the Vermont Assembly ; and now, in October of the same year, he 
is made lieutenant-governor of his cherished state. 

Congress, at last, after 3'ears of vexation and delay, had pro- 
ceeded so far, in August, 1781, as to lay it down as an indispen- 
sable preliminary to the recognition of Vermont as a member of 
the Union, that she should '• explicitly relinquish all demands of 
land and jurisdiction on the east side of Connecticut river, and on 
the west side of a line drawn twenty miles eastward of Hudson's 
river." Here was a stumbling-block and a rock of offence not to 
be disregarded. This resolution of congress was laid before the 
assembly, but that body stood firm. The}^ would not submit the 
question of their independence to any power whatever ; but they 
would refer tlie question of their jurisdictional boundary to com- 
missioners mutually chosen ; and when they should be admitted 
into the American Union, they would submit any such disputes to 
congress. 

They proceeded to their work ; they extended Vermont coun- 
ties over this New Hampshire tract ; they levied taxes, created 
courts, and appointed sheriffs and justices of the peace, — all in 
Nev) Hampshire. They did with the east side of the river as 
they did with the west, or attempted to. The state of society 
within the seceding towns was deplorable. The majorities at- 
tempted to control minorities. Affairs reached such a pitch as to 
bring the divided inhabitants in these towns into direct collision. 
New Hampshire, of course, relinquished jurisdiction to none of 
her territory or people. Strong remonstrances against the au- 
thority of Vermont came to the Committee of Safety of New 
Hampshire,- numerously signed by citizens on the disputed dis- 
trict. John Clark, of Landaff, sent in a memorial; setting forth 



BOUNDARIES OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 575 

tlie violence that had been committed on him, because, as he al- 
leged, he had stood for New Hampshire, " in opposition to wheed- 
lings, flatteries, promises, frowns, threats, insults, and every other 
conceivable machination." Memorials came from all parts of the 
district over which Vermont attempted to exercise authority. 

Cheshire was Washington county, under Vermont rule. Samuel 
Davis, of Chesterfield, in Washington county, a constable under 
Vermont authority, complains, that on the night of the fifth of 
November, 1781, in attempting to serve a precept on James Rob- 
ertson, in the house of Nathaniel Bingham, John Gandy, Jr., did, 
by force and arms, oppose him, the said Davis, and did not suffer 
him to make his service, "all which is against the peace and 
dignity of this state." Whereupon, the sheriff of Washington 
county was ordered to take the body of John Gandy, Jr., of said 
Chesterfield, and him commit to the common jail in Charlestown. 
This he did. Nathaniel Bingham was in like manner committed 
to Charlestown jail for hindering and opposing the aforesaid con- 
stable in the execution of his office. Bingham and Gand}^ peti- 
tioned the authorities of New Hampshire for release. Accom- 
panying this petition was a statement made b}^ Bingham of the 
offence. It was, in substance, this : That the town of Chester- 
field was destitute of any officers, civil or military, who would act 
under the authority of New Hampshire ; that a number of friends 
were assembled at his house the evening of Nov. 5, to nominate 
one or two persons for justice of the peace, to be commissioned by 
the assembly; that about eight o'clock, Samuel Davis, acting as 
constable under Vermont, came in with five others, took a book 
from under his coat, and said he would like to read a paragraph ; 
that he (Bingham) forbade his reading any Vermont laws in his 
house, and advised him to withdraw ; that John Gandy told Da- 
vis if he read any riot act there, he (Gandy) would kick him into 
the fire ; that Davis said he had a precept against one of the com- 
panj^ ; and that he (Bingham) forbade his reading any Vermont 
precept under his roof, on which Davis and his attendants left. 

The New Hampshire assembly took up the case at once, and, 
Nov. 27, 1781, unanimously enacted that the committee of safety 
be empowered to issue their order to the sheriff of Cheshire 
county to release from prison all persons in Cheshire or Grafton 
county confined there by order of any pretended court, raagis- 



576 HISTORY OF WAENER. 

trate, or othor officer claiming autliority niuler Vermont. They 
further empowered the committee to cause to be appreliended 
and committed to prison, in any of tlie counties, all persons act- 
ing under the pretended authority of the state of Vermont, and 
for this jiurpose the sheriffs were empowered to raise the 2yosse 
comitatus. Under the authority thus given, Col. Enoch Hale, of 
Kindge, sheriff of Cheshire county, proceeded to the release of 
the prisoners in Charlestown jail. He demanded Bingham and 
Gandy. On being refused, he attempted to break the jail, when 
he was immediately seized and committed to jail himself by the 
Vermont authorities. 

Hale, the imprisoned sheriff, called on Gen. Bellows to raise 
the militia for his liberation. Bellows at once notified President 
Weare of the state of things, and went about his work. This 
alarmed the Vermonters, and orders were issued by Gov. Chit- 
tenden for their militia to oppose force to force. The sheriff 
(Wm. Page), and others in authority under the laws of Vermont, 
aroused themselves to resist any attempt on the part of New 
Hampshire to rescue Col. Hale or the other prisoners confined at 
Charlestown. The regiment of militia under Col. Samuel King 
w;is immediately placed in a state of readiness by Vermont to 
meet any attack that might be made. The excitement was in- 
tense, and every one felt that " the hour had struck." 

While this was the condition of affairs in the western part of 
the state, the authorities of New Hampshire in the eastern part 
"were not idle and indifferent spectators. President Weare, the 
committee of safety, and all others in authority, realized the grav- 
ity of the occasion, and acted with decision and vigor. The 
sheriff of Hillsl>orough county (Moses Kelley, Esq.) was ordered 
"to raise the body of his county," for the purpose of liberating 
Col. Hale. Gen. Nichols was ordered to assist the sheriff " in 
raising the body of the militia in Hillsborough county." Gen. 
Benjamin Bellows, of Walpole, was ordered to raise as many of 
the militia of his county as possible, to take command of them, 
and be in readiness to cooperate with those i-aised in Hillsborough 
county. Francis Blood, of Temple, was ordered " to supply the 
troops with beef from the cattle collected for the army, and, if 
practicable," to exchange a sufficient quantity of beef to supply 
them with bread." 



BOUNDARIES OP NEW HAMPSHIRE. 57T 

Gov. Chittenden, of Vermont, appointed Gen. Payne (the lieu- 
tenant-governor) to take command of the militia of the state, to 
call to his aid Generals Fletcher and Olcott, and such of the field- 
officers on the east side of the mountains as he thought proper. 
About the same time, a committee from the state of Vermont 
was sent to Exeter " to agree on measures to prevent hostilities." 
William Page, the Vermont sheriff, was on this committee. He 
had no sooner reached Exeter than he was arrested and cast into 
prison, and held as a hostage for the release of the sheriff of 
Cheshire. The assembly of New Hampshire issued a proclama- 
tion allowing forty days for the people in the revolted towns to 
repair to some magistrate, and subscribe a declaration that they 
acknowledge the extent of New Hampshire to Connecticut river, 
and tliat they would hereafter observe the peace. They also 
ordered the militia of all the counties to hold themselves in readi- 
ness to march against the revolters. The committee of safety of 
Kew Hampshire issued a warrant to Jonathan Martin, of Wilton, 
ordering him to arrest Col. Samuel King, of Chesterfield, who, 
as magistrate, committed Bingham and Gandy to jail ; also, to 
arrest Nathaniel S. Prentice, Moses Smith, and Isaac Griswold. 
Another warrant was issued to Robert Smith, of Londonderry, 
commanding him to arrest Benjamin Giles, of Newport. (Pren- 
tice, Griswold, and Giles were deputy sheriffs under Vermont 
rule.) Smith "apprehended the body" of Prentice and carried 
him to Exeter, where he was committed to jail. He also arrested 
King, carried him a dozen miles, when he was forcibly rescued. 
Gen. Bellows, in addressing President Weare in reference to this 
rescue, says, — " The mob, after refreshment at King's, sought for 
all those who assisted Smith in the arrest, some of whom they 
caught and abused in a shameful manner, by striking, kicking, 
and all the indignities which such a hellish pack can be guilty of." 
Meantime, General George Washington, then commanding the 
armies of the Eevolution, had been applied to by a committee of 
congress, who had under consideration the question of admitting 
Vermont into the Union and determining its boundaries. Said 
committee prevailed on Gen. Washington to address a letter to 
the governor of Vermont. And now the climax is at hand. On 
the first day of January, 1782, Washington wrote as requested. 
The letter is too long to be inserted here ; but it advised the gov- 



578 HISTORY OF WARNER. 

ernor and the people of Vermont to relinquish their late exten- 
sion as an " indispensable preliminary" to their admittance into 
the Union. Washington intimated that if thej refused to com- 
ply with this requirement they must he considered as having a 
hostile disposition towards the United States, in which case coer- 
cion on the part of congress would become necessary. 

This letter, taken in connection with the action of congress, 
hereinbefore mentioned, had the desired offect. The war ended. 
The assembly of Vermont, which had been in session at Charles- 
town, N. H., and which had adjourned to meet at Bennington 
the last day of January, 1782, was not ready to act at once, as no 
quorum appeared till Yah. 11. On the 23d day of February, 
Anno Domini J.782, the said assembly did solemnl}'' resolve, 
^''Th-At the west hanJc oi Connecticut river, and a line beginning 
at the north-west corner of the Massachusetts state, from thence 
northward twenty miles east of Hudson's river, as specified in th e 
resolutions of August last, shall be considered as fhe east and 
west boundaries of Vermont, and that this assembly do hereby 
relinquish all claim and demand to, and right of jurisdiction in 
and over, an}' and every district of territory without said bound- 
ary lines." 

Thus ended this bitter and prolonged contest, — a contest which, 
for years, had been productive only of mischief, by dividing fami- 
lies and neighborhoods, and distracting the country. Thus end- 
ed, also, this second union of certain disaffected New Hampshire 
towns with the state of Vermont. The summary work of dissolu- 
tion was accomplished in the absence of the New Hampshire 
members. Before they arrived at their posts in Bennington, the 
die had been cast ; Vermont had gone back over the river, and 
the boundary of New Hampshire rested on the west bank. 

ALONG THE HIGHLANDS. 

Now the boundaries of this state are established on the south, 
on the east, and on the west, never, probably, to be disturbed 
while the foundations of the government stand. 

But I have not yet encircled the state. New Hampshire, on 
the south-east, borders on the ocean, and on the north, on Her 
Britannic Majesty's Dominion. Our northern boundary line is 



BOUNDARIES OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. " 579 

" along the highlands," between the waters of the Atlantic ocean 
and the river St. Lawrence, and is about thirty-seven miles in 
length. I shall dwell very briefly on this branch of my subject ; 
shall exclude much that might properly be introduced here, but 
which is not necessary to an understanding of the main facts. 
There has been no disjnite about this line : there was a disagree- 
ment and a delay. By the roj'al decree, in 1740, New Hampshire 
was extended to Canada. That country was then in the posses- 
sion of the French. It was conquered by the English in 1759, 
and became a British province. When the treaty of peace was 
concluded between the United States and Great Britain, Sept. 3, 
1783, it was agreed and declared that the boundaries should be 
from the north-west angle of Nova Scotia, along the highlands 
which divide those rivers that empty into the St. Lawrence from 
those which fall into the Atlantic ocean, "to the north-icestem- 
most head of Connecticut river; then down along the middle of 
that river to the 45° of north latitude ; thence due west," etc. 

Now, the question in controversy has been. What was meant by 
the words " the north-westernmost head of Connecticut river " ? 
This river has three recognized heads. The eastern is in Lake 
Connecticut, a small lake in the northern extremity of the state, 
and about midway of the state from east to west, as our lines now 
are. The head of this branch is the lake, and at the very outlet 
of the lake it takes the name of Connecticut river. West of that, 
rising further north at the ridge of the highlands, is Indian 
Stream. It flows south, passing by Connecticut lake on the west, 
and emptying into the Connecticut branch several miles below the 
lake. Still farther west, rising in the highlands, is Hall's Stream, 
flowing south, west of Indian Stream, and falling into the Con- 
necticut branch yet lower down. 

Several attempts were made, up to 1823, to settle the point in 
controversy, but they were fruitless, and the subject was then 
drojiped till 1842. A committee was appointed by the legislature 
of New Hampshire, in 1789, "to run our northern line." Having 
attended to duty, that committee reported that " they had spotted 
a birch tree for the north-east corner of the state ;" that " they 
then spotted along the highlands, south-westward, to the head of 
the north-west branch of Connecticut river, then down said river 
to the main river, about half a mile below latitude 45° north." 
38 



580 HISTORY OF WARNEK. 

This could have been none other than Hall's Stream, for that only 
falls into the Connecticut below the 45°. And that " birch tree," 
if it stands, is to-day the north-east corner of New Hampshire and 
the north-west corner of Maine. It stands on the great "• divid. 
ing ridge," on Crown mountain, in latitude 45° 19' north. 

The English have contended that a fair construction of the 
treaty would make the main branch of the river the boundary 
line, because the other streams do not bear the name of Connecti- 
cut, but distinct names. If this view had prevailed, our state 
would have been less in territory than it now is, by three good- 
sized townships. But if this first view could not be entertained, 
then the English have insisted that Indian Stream, the middle 
branch of the three, must be accepted as the boundary. It is 
larger than Hall's Stream, and more direct in its course. They 
contended that little brooks and rivulets were not to be consid- 
ered. ^Now, if the boundary had been fixed here, New Hampshire 
would have been less in territory than it now is by at least one 
large township. 

Our government contended, from the beginning, for Hall's 
Stream. It is the north-west branch of Connecticut river, and 
therefore its source is the " north-westernmost head of Connecti- 
cut river." No one can go into that country, or look upon a cor- 
rect map of it, without being convinced that Hall's Stream fully 
answers to the designation in the treaty. It is considerable in 
size ; its head is in the highlands, north of the 45th degree ; it is 
a branch of the Connecticut ; and it is more north-west than Ind- 
ian Stream. Carrigain's map, Morse's Geography, and Belknap's 
History have all, since 1789, taken it for granted that the high- 
lands and Hall's Stream constitute our northern boundary. 

But the question hung fire till 1842. Webster and Ashburton, 
in the treaty of Washington of that year, accepted this line, and 
determined it to be the boundary forever between the British pos- 
sessions and the state of New Hampshire. 

Thus, for years and centuries, has the question of boundary, in 
one form or another, agitated the people of this state. Happily 
for us and for posterity, those questions have now for long years 
been adjusted, and we have had peace. There has been no at- 
tempt to disturb any boundary line when once fairly determined. 
There will be none. What New Hampshire is, as to its territorial 



W 88 



BOUNDARIES OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 581 

limits, it will remain. It is not large in area or in popiilation, 
but respectable in both. In extent of territory it excels Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Delaware ; 
and in population, according to the census of 1870, it excels 
Rhode Island, Delaware, Florida, Nebraska, Nevada, and Oregon. 
New Hampshire is a good state to be born in, equally good to 
live in, and quite as good as any place on earth to be buried in. 
In productiveness of soil, she is above an average of the states ; in 
healthfulness of climate and in the grandeur of her mountains, 
she is unsurpassed. She has produced her full share of the great 
men and eminent women of the country, and is still producing 
them. Her population enjoy as much of the good things of this 
life as any people under the sun ; and those of us to the manor 
born who have attained to middle age, and especially those of 
us who are admonished by the lengthening shadows that night is 
coming on, should remain on our "native heath," hallowed by the 
recollection of the joys and sorrows of two hundred years, and 
finish our joi;rney at home, thanking God if we may do this in 
faith, looking for a city that hath foundations. 






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